On February 12, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s younger son and heir apparent, Tejashwi Yadav, finally shifted out of 5, Deshratna Marg bungalow in Patna. The young RJD scion fought a one- an-half-year-long court battle to retain it, but lost it earlier this month when the Supreme Court dismissed his petition and ordered him to check out within a week. It was vacated at night, apparently to escape media glare.
However, that was not meant to be. The government bungalow is once again in the news after Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi took possession of it last week and invited media persons for a tour of the property.
They were stunned by the extravagant decoration and furnishing of the bungalow. “I am speechless. It’s nothing short of a seven-star hotel. Those, who have been to the 1, Anne Marg (the official residence of Bihar chief minister) and Raj Bhawan (the governor’s house), would agree that it’s way fancier than both. There has been a splurge as if it was meant for some raja-maharaja,” said Modi.
The bungalow, which is a stone’s throw from the chief minister’s residence, was allotted to Tejaswhi in 2015, just days after the Grand Alliance government was sworn into power in the state. The young RJD leader became the deputy CM in accordance with the power-sharing agreement between Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav. Tejaswhi was also given the additional charge of the road construction and building construction department.
One of the bedrooms of Tejashwi Yadav's official bungalow
Renovation work on the bungalow began in January 2016. The engineers, to keep their minister happy, let go of all rules and regulations and constructed a beautiful abode for the deputy chief minister within a year.
However, Kumar snapped ties with Yadav after the RJD chief, his wife and ex-CM, Rabri Devi, and son Tejashwi were named in the FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the IRCTC Hotel scam. Kumar resigned on 26 July 2017, and within hours stitched an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and formed the government on July 27.
The tussle over the bungalow began in August 2017, when the government served eviction notice to Tejaswhi. He was allotted 1, Polo Road instead as the leader of Opposition in the state Assembly. The young RJD leader, however, refused to vacate the bungalow and challenged the notice in the Patna High Court. He argued the 1, Polo Road bungalow was “not matching his status”.
The high court quashed his petition twice and ordered him to vacate the bungalow. However, Tejaswhi kept pushing and challenged the decision in the Supreme Court. The apex court threw out his petition in the very first hearing on February 7, and even fined him Rs 50,000 for wasting valuable judicial time.
Although Tejaswhi maintained that he would continue to live with his parents in their nearby 10, Circular Road Residence, money was used without any check to redecorate the place.
Expensive curtains and luxurious leather sofas fill the rooms and high-end fixtures can be found everywhere from the living room to the bathroom. Plus, Yadav Junior, who is a former IPL player for the Delhi Daredevils, incorporated a special room with a pool table for amusement in the design. The modular kitchen is equipped with a fancy six-door fridge and an automatic five-burner stove, which, however, was never used as the labels were still on.
The luxury bungalow comes with three bathrooms; one at the ground floor and two on the first floor. Each of them is fitted with shower panels, tough-end glass curtains and toiletry fittings from leading international brands. Even the wall tiles in bathrooms were specially imported. “It must have cost no less than Rs 10 lakh per bathroom,” exclaimed a staff at the bungalow.
The reception area of Tejashwi Yadav's official bungalow
The bedrooms are also beautifully designed. They open into the front courtyard of the house and the manicured garden can be viewed from the room. The floors are made of Marbonite tiles and king-size beds and leather sofas fill up the space. An adjacent room was turned into a walk-in closet for the young leader.
There is a meditation room and a puja room with wooden flooring; RJD sources inform that Yadav Junior is a devout person. The first floor has a second drawing room between the bedrooms, and a small Astroturf lawn.
The double storey house itself is nestled in a beautifully designed two-acre garden that has a jogging track and an illuminated pathway. There are three small ponds in the garden as well. Sources say there was a plan to construct a swimming pool, but it went awry when its resident lost his portfolio in 2017.
A total of 35 air conditioners (ACs) have been installed in the three-bedroom house and the office area is fitted with 11 ACs. To keep water tanks cool in the summer months, shades with heat-resistant materials have been constructed over them.
Only a handful of people were ever allowed inside the house and photography was strictly banned. No journalist was ever invited inside the house. A few days ago, the young leader organised an online chat with his social media followers at his bungalow’s garden. To stop media cameras from wandering off, a special stage was constructed to hide the house and its features.
The bungalow also comes with living quarters for staff members and security personnel. These, however, are not as glamorous as the bungalow itself. In fact, they are very basic in their design and lack even air coolers.
Most people were allowed only up to the official wing of the bungalow. However, it doesn’t mean that the office has no goodies. The office space is also artistically constructed with a big chamber and an ante-room for the deputy chief minister, a couple of cabins for his personal assistants, a conference room and a working space for a small group of junior staff. There is also a recliner sofa in the ante-room for a quick power nap.
“Now I know why, Tejashwi Yadav was so adamant on keeping the bungalow,” quipped Modi.
Modi, who is now the deputy chief minister, puts the remodelling cost for the bungalow at Rs 4-5 crore. However, the government, has no clue where the money came from. “We don’t know about it,” said Building Construction Minister Maheshwar Hazari, “we have ordered an enquiry into the matter.”
According to the minister, members of the state cabinet are allowed to spend only Rs 3 lakh in five years and that too only on infrastructure . “All the furnishing was done when Yadav had the charge of road construction as well as building construction portfolios. If he has spent more than the limit, then either he used his own money or misused department funds. Either way, it’s a punishable offence,” Hazari said.
Since the media tour, the bungalow has snowballed into a major political controversy. The ruling Janata Dal (United) and BJP alliance has been attacking Tejashwi and RJD over the issue. “He wasted public money in making it a lavish place. It’s sheer misuse of money and power,” said Modi.
While the RJD has been quiet over the matter, it was quick to accuse Chief Minister Kumar of incurring more expenditure than Tejashwi on housing. “Nitish Kumar has three bungalows in Patna. In Delhi, he has been allotted a bungalow and there is also a suite in the Bihar Bhawan,” said RJD spokesman and lawmaker Bhai Virendra.
Tejashwi has been in Delhi ever since he vacated the bungalow. He maintains that his fight was against the “spiteful and partisan attitude” of the state government. “My fight was against the arbitrary, spiteful and partisan attitude of the Nitish government. My democratic fight would continue. Nitish Kumar himself is occupying two residences by clubbing together as many as six bungalows,” he said after the apex court verdict. He also alleged that at least 10 MLAs and former ministers were in illegal occupation of ministerial bungalows in Patna.
Meanwhile, despite the grandeur of the bungalow, its new occupant has no intention of living there. “In its current shape, living here would be like maintaining an elephant,” he said. Instead, Modi would continue to live in his ancestral house in Patna. However, he accepted that he would use the plush office quite often as it is equipped with the latest technology.