New Delhi:

The Centre has ordered a probe into alleged irregularities in the renovation of the former official residence of ex-Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The investigation was ordered following the submission of a report by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) on February 13.

The CPWD has been directed to conduct a detailed inquiry into allegations that building norms were violated to construct the 6 Flagstaff Road Bungalow, an extravagant residence sprawling over 40,000 square yards (8 acres). The inquiry is expected to probe whether government regulations were bypassed to facilitate the construction of what the BJP has dubbed the “Sheeshmahal.”

On Monday, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva urged Lt Governor VK Saxena to annul the merger of four government properties with the 6 Flagstaff Road bungalow.

Mr Sachdeva, in a letter to Lt Governor Saxena, alleged that the bungalow’s expansion had been carried out through the unauthorised merger of four government properties. 

He also declared that once the BJP forms the government in Delhi, the newly elected Chief Minister will not occupy the bungalow.

The reconstructed bungalow served as Mr Kejriwal’s official residence from 2015 until October 2024. He vacated the premises after resigning as Chief Minister under intense political scrutiny from the BJP, which had made corruption a central theme of its electoral campaign for the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections.

The PWD report, released in October 2024, highlighted luxurious renovations and high-end appliances installed at the bungalow. This provided ammunition to the BJP in its campaign against the AAP leadership.

During a political rally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a veiled attack on Mr Kejriwal, stating: “In the last 10 years, Delhi has been plagued by an ‘AAPda’. AAP has descended as a calamity on Delhi. I could have built a ‘Sheeshmahal’ too, but I chose to build more than 4 crore homes for the poor.”

Mr Kejriwal dismissed the allegations as politically motivated, accusing the BJP of using personal attacks to divert attention from its alleged failures in Delhi.

The BJP has, for over two years, relentlessly targeted Mr Kejriwal over allegations of corruption and misuse of public funds, particularly regarding the lavish renovations and extravagant interiors of the bungalow.

The campaign worked as the BJP ended AAP’s rule over the national capital to return to power after over 26 years. The BJP won 48 of the 70 assembly seats, AAP won 22 and the Congress scored a duck.

New Delhi:

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s broadside on Arvind Kejriwal Tuesday – naming the former Delhi Chief Minister as the “architect of the liquor scam” and raking up the ‘sheeshmahal‘ jab, a staple of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s attacks – underlined the chasm between his party and the Aam Aadmi Party, both of which remain (on paper, if nothing else), part of the INDIA opposition bloc and national allies.

Addressing a rally in Delhi’s Patparganj, before the city votes next week in an election that could, potentially, enhance or break Arvind Kejriwal’s political reputation, Mr Gandhi took aim both at the AAP leader and his right-hand man, ex-Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, both of whom had been arrested, and jailed, by the Enforcement Directorate on corruption charges.

Both were released on bail, by the Supreme Court, late last year.

Mr Gandhi campaigning in Patparganj is significant because it is Mr Sisodia’s seat.

“… Kejriwal had a small car (the blue Maruti Wagon-R that the AAP leader reported stolen in October 2017) when he came, and he declared he will introduce a new kind of politics. He had climbed an electric poll and promised to transform Delhi…”

“But when the poor people of Delhi needed him, he was nowhere to be found. When there was violence in Delhi (referring to the riots of 2020) he was nowhere to be seen. He talked about ‘clean politics’ but the biggest liquor scam took place in Delhi,” Mr Gandhi raged.

And then the Congress leader weighed in with the ‘sheeshmahal‘ jab, comparing the BJP’s allegations – that the AAP spent Rs 45 crore to renovate the Delhi Chief Minister’s bungalow when Mr Kejriwal held the post – to his vacating his MP bungalow after he was suspended.

READ | ‘Sheeshmahal’ Showdown: AAP vs BJP Over Chief Minister Home

“I was thrown out of my house by (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji… and I handed them (the BJP) the keys and said you can keep it. But Kejriwalji stays in a ‘sheeshmahal‘.”

READ | Rahul Gandhi Vacates Delhi Bungalow He Held Since 2005

The AAP and Congress were expected to contest the Delhi election together, even after acrimony over failed seat-share talks for the Haryana election and the latter’s big defeat. Mr Gandhi, in fact, was perhaps the seniormost Congress leader to push to continue the alliance.

But within each party’s Delhi units there has long been unease and distrust of the other, dating back to a failed alliance after the 2013 election; the two joined hands to keep the BJP out of power, but fell apart two years into the term, leading to a mid-term election the AAP dominated.

Eventually, the weight of failed talks in Haryana and the squabbling that preceded sharing of the seven seats in Delhi for the April-June federal election (all of which the BJP won), took its toll and Mr Kejriwal and the Congress declared they would each contest separately.

Since then the attacks on each other have been fierce; the Congress, for example, has also targeted Mr Kejriwal over his allegations the BJP mixed “poison” in Yamuna water being supplied to the city by the saffron party-ruled Haryana government.

Delhi’s 70 Assembly seats will vote in a single phase on February 5, with results due three days later. The AAP thumped the BJP and the Congress in the last two polls, winning 67 and 62 seats.

This time it faces a much tougher challenge – from the BJP.

NDTV Exclusive | “Change Inevitable”: Amit Shah Attacks AAP

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the BJP’s ultimate poll strategist, told NDTV his party is supremely confident of stopping a hat-trick of solo wins for Mr Kejriwal and the AAP.

New Delhi:

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s broadside on Arvind Kejriwal Tuesday – naming the former Delhi Chief Minister as the “architect of the liquor scam” and raking up the ‘sheeshmahal‘ jab, a staple of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s attacks – underlined the chasm between his party and the Aam Aadmi Party, both of which remain (on paper, if nothing else), part of the INDIA opposition bloc and national allies.

Hitting back, Arvind Kejriwal said Mr Gandhi was repeating the BJP’s speech, suggesting there’s an agreement between the two parties. 

Addressing a rally in Delhi’s Patparganj, before the city votes next week in an election that could, potentially, enhance or break Arvind Kejriwal’s political reputation, Mr Gandhi took aim both at the AAP leader and his right-hand man, ex-Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, both of whom had been arrested, and jailed, by the Enforcement Directorate on corruption charges.

Both were released on bail, by the Supreme Court, late last year.

“… Kejriwal had a small car (the blue Maruti Wagon-R that the AAP leader reported stolen in October 2017) when he came, and he declared he will introduce a new kind of politics. He had climbed an electric poll and promised to transform Delhi…”

“But when the poor people of Delhi needed him, he was nowhere to be found. When there was violence in Delhi (referring to the riots of 2020) he was nowhere to be seen. He talked about ‘clean politics’ but the biggest liquor scam took place in Delhi,” Mr Gandhi raged.

And then the Congress leader weighed in with the ‘sheeshmahal‘ jab, comparing the BJP’s allegations – that the AAP spent Rs 45 crore to renovate the Delhi Chief Minister’s bungalow when Mr Kejriwal held the post – to his vacating his MP bungalow after he was suspended.

READ | ‘Sheeshmahal’ Showdown: AAP vs BJP Over Chief Minister Home

“I was thrown out of my house by (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji… and I handed them (the BJP) the keys and said you can keep it. But Kejriwalji stays in a ‘sheeshmahal‘.”

READ | Rahul Gandhi Vacates Delhi Bungalow He Held Since 2005

Arvind Kejriwal, whose party has been in power since 2013, criticised Mr Gandhi for repeating BJP’s claims. 

“Today Rahul ji repeated the entire speech of the BJP in Delhi. Tell the public what agreement has been reached between the BJP and Congress?” asked Mr Kejriwal.

लोग पूछ रहे हैं राहुल गांधी जी “राजमहल” पर चुप क्यों है?

आज राहुल जी ने दिल्ली में पूरा बीजेपी वालों का भाषण दोहराया। जनता को बता दो कि बीजेपी और कांग्रेस में क्या समझौता हुआ है? https://t.co/nRUoLCy0FM

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 28, 2025

In another post, Mr Kejriwal said,” Modiji puts people in jail even by making fake cases like liquor scam. Why haven’t you and your family been arrested in open and shut cases like National Herald? How did Robert Vadra get a clean chit from BJP? It is better if you don’t preach on fear and bravery. The country knows who is a coward and who is brave.”

The AAP and Congress were expected to contest the Delhi election together, even after acrimony over failed seat-share talks for the Haryana election and the latter’s big defeat. Mr Gandhi, in fact, was perhaps the seniormost Congress leader to push to continue the alliance.

But within each party’s Delhi units there has long been unease and distrust of the other, dating back to a failed alliance after the 2013 election; the two joined hands to keep the BJP out of power, but fell apart two years into the term, leading to a mid-term election the AAP dominated.

Eventually, the weight of failed talks in Haryana and the squabbling that preceded sharing of the seven seats in Delhi for the April-June federal election (all of which the BJP won), took its toll and Mr Kejriwal and the Congress declared they would each contest separately.

Since then the attacks on each other have been fierce; the Congress, for example, has also targeted Mr Kejriwal over his allegations the BJP mixed “poison” in Yamuna water being supplied to the city by the saffron party-ruled Haryana government.

Delhi’s 70 Assembly seats will vote in a single phase on February 5, with results due three days later. The AAP thumped the BJP and the Congress in the last two polls, winning 67 and 62 seats.

This time it faces a much tougher challenge – from the BJP.

NDTV Exclusive | “Change Inevitable”: Amit Shah Attacks AAP

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the BJP’s ultimate poll strategist, told NDTV his party is supremely confident of stopping a hat-trick of solo wins for Mr Kejriwal and the AAP.

New Delhi:

Countering Delhi Chief Minister Atishi’s claim that she was evicted from her official residence for the second time in three months, sources from the Public Works Department have said that the question of eviction doesn’t arise because she never took possession of the bungalow.

The sources also said the AAP leader was supposed to take possession of the official residence at 6, Flag Staff Road, within one week and she did not do so in three months, This, they alleged, was deliberate to stall the investigation into the alleged irregularities in the renovation of the bungalow, which has been derisively termed ‘Sheeshmahal’ by the BJP. 

Addressing a press conference soon after the dates for the Delhi Assembly election were announced on Tuesday, Ms Atishi said she was evicted from her official residence by the BJP-led government at the Centre. 

“A night before the announcement of the election date, the BJP-led government at the Centre has thrown me out of the chief minister’s residence for the second time in two months. I was sent a letter stating that the allotment had been cancelled. The residence has been snatched from the elected chief minister of an elected government. They did the same thing three months ago, when I became chief minister. My belongings and those of my family were thrown out of the house and on the road,” the chief minister said in Hindi. 

“The BJP thinks that by snatching my house, by abusing our leaders and my family, they will stop the work we are doing for the people of Delhi. But I want to tell the people that they can snatch our houses or use expletives against us, but thet can’t snatch our will to work for the people of Delhi… After they threw me out of the house for the first time, I helped fix the roads of Delhi, got flyovers constructed and got the Mahila Samman Yojana passed. Now I am pledging to provide Rs 2,100 to each woman in Delhi and free healthcare to our elderly,” she added.

Responding to the AAP leader’s claims, a PWD source said she was not evicted as she had never shifted there. “An official residence at 17 AB Mathura Road is already allotted to her and she has again been given an offer of three other bungalows,” the source said. 

Detailing the reasons for cancelling the allotment of the 6, Flag Staff Road residence, sources said Ms Atishi was supposed to take possession of the house within one week, as is clearly stipulated in the rules, and she did not do so in three months. 

They pointed out that an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate is underway into the alleged corruption in the renovation of the residence and one of the conditions when the house was allotted to Ms Atishi was that she would cooperate in the probe. 

“However, she deliberately did not take possession so that the house remains closed and investigation agencies are stalled,” said a source. 

Point Of Attack

In the lead-up to the Delhi elections – which will be held on February 5 and counting of votes will take place on February 8 – the ‘Sheeshmahal’ issue has been one of the main points of attack against the AAP by the BJP. The party has alleged that the 6, Flag Staff Road bungalow, earlier occupied by AAP chief and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, was originally estimated to be renovated at a cost of Rs 7.61 crore but the final figure was 342.31% more.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also used the line of attack against the AAP and Mr Kejriwal, as did Home Minister Amit Shah.

The AAP has, however, dismissed the allegations and maintained that the new furnishings and upgrades were necessary as the Chief Minister’s residence had been built in 1942 and needed a complete overhaul. The party has also claimed that it was the PWD itself that had recommended the changes.

New Delhi:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah today followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to target AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal for his allegedly extravagant expenditure on the official residence of the Chief Minister of Delhi. 

Mr Shah, addressing a public gathering, shared an anecdote: “Some children came to meet me at my home. I asked them, what has Arvind Kejriwal done for Delhi? One of the children said that he built a big ‘Sheeshmahal’ (glass palace) for himself. When he came into politics, he used to say he would not take a government car or bungalow. Today, he has built a ‘Sheeshmahal’ using Delhiites’ money. Kejriwal ji, you will have to give an account to the people of Delhi.”

This salvo follows PM Modi’s criticism of AAP during the inauguration of several development projects in Delhi. PM Modi labelled AAP as an “aapda” (disaster) that has plagued the national capital for the past decade. In a swipe at Mr Kejriwal, PM Modi claimed that he could have constructed a ‘Sheeshmahal’ for himself but chose instead to prioritise building homes for the people.

The BJP has consistently attacked Mr Kejriwal over allegations of exorbitant spending on his official residence when he was the Chief Minister. An inventory released by the Public Works Department (PWD) in October last year showed luxurious appliances and renovations at the bungalow.

Responding to these accusations, Mr Kejriwal dismissed PM Modi’s remarks yesterday as personal attacks and alleged that the BJP has failed Delhi over the past decade. Mr Kejriwal accused the BJP of lacking a chief ministerial face and substantive issues ahead of the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.

“In 10 years, the BJP has not done a single significant thing in Delhi. They promised permanent housing by 2022 but have built only 4,700 houses in five years. Compare that to AAP’s work: 22,000 classrooms, three new universities, and countless developmental initiatives,” Mr Kejriwal said. 

The BJP today released its first list for the Delhi Assembly elections. Parvesh Verma has been fielded from the New Delhi constituency to take on Mr Kejriwal while Ramesh Bidhuri will contest Delhi Chief Minister Atishi for the Kalkaji constituency.