BJP says Kejriwal spent private money on 'Sheesh Mahal 2'; AAP calls allegation 'fake'
New Delhi (PTI): The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday cornered Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal over the new bungalow allotted to him at Lodhi Estate here, dubbing it as "Sheesh Mahal 2" and alleging expenditure of private money to build amenities in it.
AAP has denied the allegation, calling it fake.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, Delhi Public Works Department Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma said Kejriwal has become habituated to living lavishly.
"After he was forced out of Sheesh Mahal by Dhurandhar voters of Delhi, he shifted to Punjab, where he grabbed a bungalow, and now he has prepared Sheesh Mahal 2 at Lodhi Estate," Verma said.
Showing pictures of the Type VII bungalow allotted by the Centre to Kejriwal as chief of AAP, which is a national party, the minister said the Central Public Works Department does not spend so much money on bungalows and alleged that "private money" was spent to create superior quality amenities in it.
He sought to know from the AAP and Kejriwal how much money was spent on the bungalow and what the source of it was.
Meanwhile, AAP leader Atishi said the photographs released by Verma were fake.
In an X post in Hindi, the former chief minister said, "All the pictures released by Parvesh Verma are fake. They are not pictures of Kejriwal ji's house."
"To find out whose house is how luxurious, (chief minister) Rekha Gupta ji and lieutenant governor sahib should open their own houses, and Kejriwal ji will open his house. The public will decide for itself," she added.
The BJP had dubbed the 6, Flagstaff Road bungalow in Civil Lines, where Kejriwal lived as Delhi Chief Minister till September 2024, as "Sheesh Mahal" over alleged financial irregularities involved in its reconstruction and acquisition of lavish interiors and household goods.
Verma said that Kejriwal's new residence at 95, Lodhi Estate, where he has shifted now, has five bedrooms and four drawing rooms. It has amenities superior to any other bungalow in Lutyens' Delhi, including those of the leaders of other parties, such as the Congress and the DMK.
Verma, who defeated Kejriwal on the New Delhi seat in the assembly elections last year, alleged that AAP's corruption was the reason behind seven of its Rajya Sabha MPs quitting the party on Friday.
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Ranchi: Temple guard bludgeoned to death during robbery attempt, 3 held
Ranchi (PTI): A 60-year-old security guard of a temple in Ranchi was bludgeoned to death with a stone during a robbery attempt, police said on Saturday.
The incident happened late on Thursday at the Jagannath Temple in the Dhurwa Smart City area, they said.
"Three persons were arrested on Friday for killing the security guard. They confessed to the crime and told police that the victim had identified them. Therefore, in fear of being caught, they killed him by attacking him with a stone on his head," SSP Rakesh Ranjan said.
"Thereafter, they took money from the donation box and fled the scene. Two of them have criminal antecedents," he added.
Ranjan said the investigators recovered Rs 3 lakh in cash that had been robbed, the stone with blood-stained marks, and the iron rod used to break open the lock of the donation box kept there.
An FIR in this regard was lodged at the Dhurwa police station, he said, adding that the accused were sent to judicial custody by a court.
