Congress' Ajay Maken said that Delhi CM Kejriwal spent Rs 171 on his residence Congress' Ajay Maken said that Delhi CM Kejriwal spent Rs 171 on his residence Congress' Ajay Maken said that Delhi CM Kejriwal spent Rs 171 on his residence The Indian National Congress' spokesperson Ajay Maken, on Sunday, alleged that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal spent Rs 171 crore, and not Rs 45 crore as reported earlier, on his residence. This comes amid a huge uproar following the BJP’s claim that the chief minister spent Rs 45 crore on the beautification of his residence during peak COVID-19.
Maken accused Kejriwal of faking a simple lifestyle but spending crores on his residence. He contrasted Kejriwal to former Congress Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, and called her the epitome of simplicity.
"The amount spent by the whole cabinet of Sheila Dikshit on their homes in 15 years of its rule is no match to the amount spent by Arvind Kejriwal on the renovation of his palace," Maken alleged.
The Congress leader said that the government had to buy additional flats for officers whose residences had to be razed down or vacated in order to expand the CM’s residential complex, which amounted to Rs 171 crore, and not Rs 45 crore. Maken said that the Delhi CM spent crores on his residence at Civil Lines during the COVID pandemic when people were running from pillar to post for hospital beds and access to oxygen.
"I will explain how Rs 171 crore was spent. There are four residence complexes next to Kejriwal's official residence 6, Flagstaff Road, Civil Lines. Together these four residence complexes have 22 officers' flats. Out of those 22, 15 were either vacated or demolished and for the rest seven, it was instructed that they will not be re-allotted," Maken said.
He said that the Kejriwal government bought 21 Type-5 flats worth Rs 126 crore in the Commonwealth Games Village to compensate for the vacated/demolished flats.
The Congress leader argued that the price of these 21 flats also has to be included in the total cost for Kejriwal’s residence. He also cited breach of privilege as the government got the budget passed but made no mention of the renovation of Kejriwal’s residence. The plan, he accused, also disregarded heritage, greenery and the master plan of Delhi.
Kejriwal’s Civil Lines residence, that he has been occupying since becoming Chief Minister in 2015, also has the chief minister's camp office spread over a 5000 square metre area.
The BJP last month accused Kejriwal of spending crores on his official residence, and demanded his resignation on ‘moral’ grounds. As per documents, a total of Rs 44.78 crore were spent against a sanctioned amount of Rs 43.70 crore in six tranches between September 9, 2020 to June, 2022.