BJP questions source of funding for 'expensive' items at Kejriwal's earlier bungalow, cites PWD documents

New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday questioned the source of funding for the "extravagant" items at the official bungalow earlier occupied by AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal as Delhi chief minister and slammed his "silence" on the issue.

The documents of the Public Works Department show it did not provide the costly items worth crores of rupees at the 6, Flagstaff Road residence, BJP's Delhi unit president Virendra Sachdeva claimed in a press conference.

"How did you get all these extravagant items in 'sheeshmahal'? Was it from the Punjab government, was it from the liquor scam or the Delhi Jal Board...," he said.

The Aam Aadmi Party hit back, saying the BJP may continue to adopt such tactics to "malign staunchly honest" Arvind Kejriwal but the people of Delhi have seen through their "false accusations which is why the 'Kejriwal model' continues to expand at record speed".

"Unlike the leaders who cling to their bungalows and privileges for years, Kejriwal set an example by vacating the official residence after resigning as Delhi chief minister following all the requisite constitutional norms," AAP said in a statement.

The BJP said its leaders and workers will stage a protest at Kejriwal's present residence on Ferozshah Road on the issue.

"After renovation of the 6, Flagstaff Road bungalow in 2022, the PWD provided only a few basic items for daily use. However, when Kejriwal eventually vacated the residence after submitting his resignation, the PWD officials were stunned to see the extravagantly expensive furnishings there," Sachdeva claimed.

In 2022, the Public Works Department prepared a one-page item allocation list for the bungalow. However, the newly prepared inventory of items, after Kejriwal vacated the bungalow, spans eight pages, he claimed.

Citing a purported letter by a PWD official, Sachdeva said no additional items were provided at the bungalow after April 2022 by the department.

"When we ask Arvind Kejriwal questions about the 'sheeshmahal', neither does he speak nor does his chief minister Atishi... we have these documents and I hope they will respond," Sachdeva said.

Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta in a letter to the Lt Governor has demanded a high-level investigation into the "luxurious items" installed in the bungalow.

An inventory prepared by the PWD after Kejriwal vacated the bungalow in 2024 revealed that the items present at the residence far exceeded those originally provided by the PWD in 2022, he claimed.

"Additional items included luxurious and expensive toilet seats, premium wash basins, reclining sofas, costly curtains, exquisite carpets, high-value television sets, and refrigerators. These were not supplied by the PWD," he said.

Gupta questioned the source of the alleged "extravagant additions".

The Aam Aadmi Party said the BJP has unleashed countless investigations against the AAP government targeting party leaders, ministers, and MLAs, even imprisoning many of them under "false charges", but "not a single rupee of wrongdoing has been found.