Akhilesh leaves official bungalow in a "shambles"

After initial dilly-dallying, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday finally vacated his official bungalow in accordance with the Supreme Court order.

Although the keys of the bungalow were handed over to the UP estate department officials here, a controversy erupted after local TV channels showed footage of the vacated bungalow that revealed large-scale damage to the property.

According to the sources, the estate department officials invited a few local TV channels to visit the bungalow after it was vacated and pointed out to them what they alleged was the "damage" caused to it.

The footage showed broken floors, big holes in the walls and the roofs. The badminton court, swimming pool and the gym were also in a shambles.

Officials said that Rs 42 crore was spent on the renovation of the bungalow by the estate department during Akhilesh's regime.

The officials also said some furniture and other items, which were government property, had been taken away, a charge vehemently denied by the SP leaders here.

"It is a conspiracy to defame Akhilesh Yadav... why was the bungalow opened to the media?" said a senior SP leader.

The BJP leaders here said the TV footage exposed the "lavish" lifestyle of the SP supremo.

Akhilesh, who was on a visit to Mathura, said that he was ready to compensate provided the estate department furnished a list of the items that had allegedly been taken away.