The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government vs Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) standoff reached Chief Minister Atishi's 'house' on Thursday after she was asked to vacate the Civil Lines bungalow -- earlier occupied by her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal-- by officials of the Public Works Department, a ministry she heads. Atishi had shifted some of her belongings to 6, Flagstaff Road in Civil Lines just two days ago.
The PWD on Wednesday took possession of the bungalow, sparking a controversy. On Thursday, AAP alleged that on the 'behest' of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), LG VK Saxena 'threw her out' of the Delhi CM's official residence.
"It is strange for Indian democracy that the belongings of an elected woman Chief Minister were thrown out of the CM's residence by the LG. If the PWD had given the keys to Atishi on Sunday, then by what authority did the LG throw out her belongings? You want to occupy the CM residence by joining hands with a party (BJP) that has been losing for 27 years. The LG, who cannot win the councillor's election, is getting the belongings of the CM thrown out, who became the Chief Minister with the support of 62 MLAs. This is an insult to the elected government," said AAP MP Sanjay Singh.
However, as per a report by Times of India, PWD officials have claimed that a team of civil and electrical engineers from the department got the keys to the residence from the staff of the chief minister’s office (CMO) around 5 pm on Sunday to "put a new lock on it".
They reportedly claimed that the staff voluntarily took away Atishi's belongings before handing over the keys to them. Quoting a senior PWD official, the TOI report said that the department has taken possession as per procedure to carry out cleaning and inventory work. "The report will be submitted to the house allotment division. The exercise will take a few days to complete," the official said.
Explaining the official procedure, the report said that after evaluation of the inventory report, cleaning and completion of other required work, PWD will make an “allotment offer” to the new allottee, in this case Chief Minister Atishi.
"Once the allotment offer is accepted, an authority sli” will be issued to the new allottee, which gives the final authority to the person to occupy the house," the official added.
The report also quoted Raj Niwas sources saying that former CM Kejriwal pretended to vacate the house but did not give possession of the house to PWD, as per the procedure.
The Chief Minister's Office, however, disputed the claim. It alleged that on BJP's instruction, LG got the CM's residence evacuated. Meanwhile, amid the chaos, photos of Atishi emerged where she was seen doing official work at her private residence while her packed belongings were kept around her.
Sharing the photos on X, AAP wrote, "This is the passion to work for the public. BJP's LG can snatch away the residence of Delhi's woman Chief Minister Atishi and get her belongings thrown out of the CM House, but cannot snatch away her passion for working and serving the people. The Aam Aadmi Party government will continue to serve the people of Delhi and fight for their rights and entitlements till the last breath, fighting against all obstacles and difficulties."