The BJP has called for the resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly spending ₹45 crore on renovating his official residence.
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Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena has sought a report on the alleged irregularities in the renovation of the Chief Minister’s official residence at 6, Flagstaff Road, Civil Lines, which was done by the Public Works Department (PWD).
Earlier this week, the Delhi BJP, citing purported documents from the PWD, had called for the resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over spending “₹45 crore” on renovating his official residence. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has said the PWD had recommended the construction of a new house and the amount spent was ₹30 crore.
According to a notice issued by Raj Niwas on April 27, the L-G took cognisance of media reports on the matter and has directed the Chief Secretary to secure the records of expenditure and sought a report on the matter within 15 days.
Responding to the latest move, AAP said the L-G’s only job is to stop the development of Delhi.
“[Prime Minister Narendra] Modiji has sent him here for that purpose only. The BJP should first tell about the money spent on Modiji’s residence. As far as the expenditure on the CM’s residence is concerned, everything has been done in a transparent manner,” the party said in a statement.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana welcomed the L-G’s directive and said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was “answerable to the city’s residents”. Later in the day, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said the probe order “was a slap on Kejriwal’s dictatorial attitude”.
“If Chief Minister Kejriwal has not committed any theft, then why does he not allow mediapersons to enter his residence?” said Mr. Tiwari
AAP versus BJP
Alleging that the first work order was issued in 2020 during the pandemic, the BJP earlier called for Mr. Kejriwal’s prosecution for “misusing public money”. AAP leaders, including Rajya Sabha members Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha, have defended Mr. Kejriwal, citing expenses on the residence of the Prime Minister and other government houses.
“The estimate for the Prime Minister’s sprawling new house across 36,268 sq. ft. alone is ₹467 crore while the actual cost of the Central Vista project is estimated to be ₹20,000 crore,” the party had said in an earlier statement.