BJP corners ex-Delhi CM Kejriwal over 'irregularities' related to Flagstaff Road bungalow

New Delhi: Senior BJP leader Vijender Gupta on Saturday sought to corner AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal, alleging various irregularities related to his 6, Flagstaff Road residence during his tenure as the Delhi chief minister and saying it will be a major issue in the upcoming Assembly polls in the national capital.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hit back at Gupta's charges, saying the entire campaign of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is focused on attacking Kejriwal.

"They (BJP) do not have any vision or plan for Delhi. All of their allegations and cases have eventually always been proven false," the Kejriwal-led party said in a statement.

Gupta, the leader of opposition in the outgoing Delhi Assembly, alleged at a press conference that Kejriwal's "Sheesh Mahal" (the Flagstaff Road bungalow) was constructed by demolishing eight Type-V flats and two bungalows.

The flats at 45 and 47, Rajpur Road, along with two bungalows (8-A and 8-B), were demolished and merged to create a grand "Sheesh Mahal" over an extensive 10-acre plot (approximately 50,000 square yards) for Kejriwal, the BJP leader claimed.

The demolished properties officially remain listed as separate entities in government records despite being absorbed into 6, Flagstaff Road, he claimed further.

Gupta alleged that there were plans to spend an amount of Rs 200 crore for renovating the 6, Flagstaff Road bungalow but the work stopped once the BJP highlighted the "illegalities".

Kejriwal, who lived at the bungalow, later reconstructed, since becoming the chief minister in 2015, vacated it in October this year after stepping down from the post.

Gupta also alleged that "not only were there irregularities in the construction process, but crores of rupees were spent furnishing the bungalow with luxurious items. Kejriwal pursued a new liquor policy to favour liquor cartels in return for acquiring expensive items".

The public works department's (PWD) findings through inventory checks revealed that the items at the bungalow in 2024 were nearly eight times the value of those initially listed in 2022, he said.

The Vigilance Directorate of the Delhi government has directed the PWD to submit a report within five days over the source of the expensive items at the bungalow but no response has been received yet, Gupta said.

He alleged that pressure from the city government on PWD officials has stalled the report. He warned that Kejriwal would face consequences for his actions and the BJP will present this issue as a central campaign theme in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly polls due in February. PTI VIT RC