Playing out on streets of Capital: BJP vs AAP, ‘Sheesh Mahal’ vs ‘Raj Mahal’
Delhi CM House Row: Prevented from entering the Delhi Chief Minister’s residence on Wednesday, AAP leaders later marched to the PM’s official residence at 7, Race Course Road, and sat on a dharna.
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Sheesh Mahal Row: Delhi Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj asked why the “BJP’s police is not allowing the public” to see the Delhi chief minister’s residence. (Express File Photo)At 11 am on Wednesday, AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Saurabh Bhardwaj arrived near the barricades lined up in front of the 6, Flag Staff Road bungalow in the Civil Lines area, acquired by the Public Works Department (PWD), to stage a protest. The demonstration was intended to make a bid to open the doors of the Delhi Chief Minister’s official residence, which has been labelled as ‘Sheesh Mahal’ by the BJP, having “extravagant luxuries” such as mini-bars, golden toilets and swimming pools.
As their attempt to enter the bungalow was foiled, Bhardwaj asked: “Why is the BJP’s police not allowing the public to see the CM’s residence?” In response, the BJP shot back, criticising AAP leaders for trying to “deflect criticism”.
The fresh standoff came a day after AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh had announced the party’s readiness to open the doors of the ‘Sheesh Mahal’ to the public and challenged the BJP to do the same with its ‘Raj Mahal’, referring to the Prime Minister’s residence at 7, Race Course Road.
“Tomorrow, at 11 am, we invite the media to inspect the Chief Minister’s residence alongside us and uncover the reality. If the BJP’s claims are true, let them show the minibar, the swimming pool, and the golden toilet to the world,” Singh had said on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, addressing the police personnel, stationed behind the barricades at the Civil Lines bungalow, Bhardwaj said, “The PM’s residence and the CM’s residence should both be revealed to the country’s media… why the BJP’s police not allowing the public to see the residences so that the public can themselves see the extravagant luxuries they are claiming to be inside.”
He added, “A debate has been taking place around the Sheesh Mahal… we have come here to conclude that debate today. Every day, the BJP has been repeating that we have made the residence with taxpayers’ money. It’s true, it has been made using taxpayers’ money. Yes, it has been made at a cost of Rs 33 crore. But has the PM’s residence also not been made using taxpayers’ money? During the peak of the pandemic, when the whole country was struggling, the PM’s residence was built using Rs 2,700 crore.”
After their attempt to enter the bungalow was foiled, AAP leaders marched to the PM’s residence for a sit-in protest. But as they reached the Lok Kalyan Marg Metro station, they were stopped by the police. Speaking to the press after his visit, Bharadwaj said, “By stopping us, BJP proved they lied about the CM’s residence and that our claims about PM’s Raj Mahal are true.”
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, meanwhile, visited the Mathura Road bungalow allocated to Chief Minister Atishi. “By raising questions on the PM’s residence, the AAP leaders are attempting to deflect criticism over the Sheesh Mahal controversy… The PM’s residence is an officially designated property where construction and renovation have been transparently carried out, unlike the alleged irregularities surrounding the construction activities at 6, Flag Staff Road during Kejriwal’s administration,” he told the media.
He further criticised the AAP leadership as he pointed out that the Mathura Road bungalow was the one where former CM and late Congress leader Shiela Dixit had run her government from.
“Atishi has never stayed here herself and, instead, has misused her position to allow some of her political associates to occupy the premises,” he said. He also questioned the AAP on why the Civil Lines bungalow was not declared as the official Chief Minister’s residence during former CM Arvind Kejriwal’s tenure.
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