The Aam Aadmi Party has sharply reacted to the allegations that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal spent around Rs 45 crores on the 'beautification' of his official CM residence. Several AAP leaders refuted the claims made and said that the house allotted to CM Kejriwal was around 80 years old. AAP MP Sanjay Singh did a press conference earlier in the day and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had bought a plane for himself worth Rs 8,400 crores during Covid.
Singh compared the renovation of the houses of Delhi LG, PM Modi to that of CM Kejriwal. He also mentioned the private jets and planes some other politicians have access to.
He said, "Rs 15 Cr was spent in repair of LG Niwas, Gujarat CM's plane costs Rs 191 Cr and Rs 500 Cr was spent to repair PM Modi's house."
Singh said that the house that was allotted to Kejriwa was an 80-year-old house. He said it was built in 1942 and there were not one but three incidents of roof collapse. He said that it was in a very bad state it was only after these incidents that Public Works Department (PWD) decided to renovate the bungalow.
Alleging that the government is trying to divert attention from core issues, Singh said, "Discuss the allegation made by Satypal Malik. Discuss the negligence that was done in Pulwama. Discuss who is responsible for the martyrdom of the soldiers. Discuss why 5 aircraft were not given in Pulwama. How Coal Block allocation to Adani despite SC order."
AAP MLA Naresh Balyan tweeted a video showing the collapsed roof of a house claiming it to be the official residence of Kejriwal. He said, "This is the official residence of the CM of Delhi. The roof fell down 3 times. Then it was built by PWD. Which CM would have lived in such a broken house? Would have got it made before it broke down. The cost of Jogi ji's bungalow is more than 300 crores. No one's voice made a sound on it. The rest who shout are mental lepers."
"Their politics and livelihood run on that. Yesterday the roof fell down, the day after tomorrow the house would collapse. These people want to be victim of accident like this, that's why they even get attacked. Arvind Kejriwal is a tenant in this government house. He will not be there for the rest of his life. This is government property. BJP people are sick. They don't have issue," Balyan charged after BJP and Congress lashed out at Kejriwal for spending 'a fortune' on the renovation.
AAP's spokesperson and advisor to Sanjay Singh, Priyanka Kakkar said that LG can replaces his house with Kejriwal if the CM has renovated his residence by spending Rs 45 crore.
"@LtGovDelhi Sir BJP media is saying that @ArvindKejriwal Ji built a palace worth 45 crores for himself. You take this palace and give your poor house to Arvind ji so that the debate can take place on public issues.." she tweeted.
Earlier, Congress slammed Kejriwal on the issue questioning his right to remain the CM of the national capital. Congress leader Ajay Maken on Tuesday alleged that Kejriwal spent Rs 45 crore of public funds on his luxurious bungalow, including on extravagant items like Dior polish, Vietnam marble, expensive curtains, and high-end carpets.
He added that before coming to power, the AAP leader distributed printed copies of a sworn affidavit in his New Delhi Legislative Assembly constituency, dated June 7, 2013, in which he made seven promises.
Maken further said that Kejriwal had promised that he would not use a car with a red light or request additional security beyond what is necessary for a common citizen, and he refused a large bungalow and instead live in an ordinary house like a common man.