Citing CAG report, BJP alleges 'big scam' in renovation of Kejriwal's 'Sheesh Mahal'

New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) Citing a CAG report, the BJP on Monday claimed a "big scam" in the renovation of Arvind Kejriwal's official residence on 6, Flagstaff Road when he was the chief minister of Delhi, saying the national auditor's findings will be one of the main issues ahead of the Assembly elections due in the national capital in February.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra claimed the CAG report also indicated that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government under Kejriwal incurred much higher expenditures on advertisements for various programmes than the money spent on their implementation.

"Expenditure on the house and the political shop, no expenditure on people. This is the reality of Arvind Kejriwal’s party. But the people of Delhi are watching and listening, and they will definitely give response in the (upcoming) elections," Patra said.

There was no immediate response from AAP on BJP's charges.

Citing the findings of the CAG report, Patra claimed the cost for "remodelling" Kejriwal's previous official residence was initially estimated at Rs 7.61 crore, but it was "repeatedly" revised and increased at various stages with "no justification for the payments to the consultants".

A payment of Rs 33.66 crore was made for the construction of Kejriwel's 'Sheesh Mahal' in April 2022, which was 342.31 per cent higher than the initial estimate of Rs 7.61 crore, Patra claimed.

The BJP has been using the term "Sheesh Mahal", a colloquial Hindi term for an opulent house, to target Kejriwal for some time now.

"You will be surprised. The CAG report says the PWD made a proposal for remodelling Kejriwal's house, saying the existing single-storey building will be demolished to build a two-storey house to make it bigger. The proposal was accepted within a day," the BJP spokesman said.

"We have never heard of such a big scam anywhere," he added.

Asked if the BJP would make the findings of the CAG report its main poll issue, Patra said, "It's indeed a main issue, as a CAG report is no ordinary report. People of Delhi know and understand everything now." The BJP leader also claimed the report has noted that consultants for the project were selected through "spot quotation" without any open advertisement.

The CAG has noted that consultants were selected "without specification or basis of selection", he claimed.

The PWD increased the built-up area from the initial 1,397 square feet to 1,905 square feet on its own "without any permission", and also changed specifications like installation of water taps, door knobs, toilets, besides revising the preliminary estimates, Patra claimed.

He also said the CAG in its report has raised questions over the tendering process, taking note of "arbitrary shortlisting of bidders and sidelining of open rendering process due to which the (Delhi) government could not get a competitive rate".

Asked about BJP's Kalkaji candidate Ramesh Bidhuri's remarks targeting Delhi Chief Minister Atishi over her surname, Patra said the party respects the parents of every political leader, irrespective of their political affiliations.

"We respect everybody. The BJP is not contesting the elections against parents, but on issues. And the CAG report is a document of Kejriwal's corruption," he said.

Speaking at BJP's 'Parivartan Rally' in Rohini on Sunday, Bidhuri said Atishi changed her surname from "Marlena" to "Singh".

Atishi, who is the sitting MLA from Kalkaji, dropped her surname a while back.

"This Marlena (surname earlier used by Atishi) became Singh and changed her name. Kejriwal swore over his children not to go with the corrupt Congress; Marlena changed fathers. Earlier she was Marlena; now she has become Singh. This is their character," Bidhuri had charged. PTI PK ARI