BJP targets AAP, Kejriwal with parody song on 6, Flag Staff Road bungalow spending; AAP hits back

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva released the song, accompanied by a video showcasing the bungalow gate and interiors on X

New Delhi

The bungalow at 6, Flag Staff Road, on Civil Lines. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday intensified its attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), targeting its national convener Arvind Kejriwal with a four-minute video and a parody song on fittings and furnishings installed at the 6, Flag Staff Road bungalow during his stay there during his tenure as the chief minister.

The AAP hit back at the BJP, terming it a “tactic” to divert the attention of Delhi people from “worsening law and order situation”.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, who has often termed the bungalow “Sheesh Mahal” and “palace of corruption” during Kejriwal’s stay there, released the song and video, which purportedly showcases the bungalow gate and interiors, including a lawn, gym, spa-cum-bathroom and a jacuzzi, among others, on social media platform X.

Sachdeva posted: “We have been telling you the truth about the Sheesh Mahal of the person who calls himself a common man Arvind Kejriwal. Today, we will show it to you too! He has built a 7-star resort for himself by embezzling public money. Amazing Gym-Sauna Room-Jacuzzi Price! Marble Granite Lighting worth ₹ 1.9 cr. Installation worth ₹ 1.5 Cr. Gym/Spa equipment and fittings worth ₹ 35 Lakh. and total expenditure of ₹3.75 cr. How are those who swore and falsely promised not to take government house, car, security are looting the money of Delhi’s taxpayers.”

He said that the funds for the gym and spa section, instead, could have provided for “34 EWS DDA flats, 156 LIG flats and 150 CNG auto-rickshaws”.

The Flag Staff Road bungalow has been at the centre of a controversy since 2023, over expenses on its renovation. BJP leaders alleged that the Arvind Kejriwal government spent ₹45 crore renovating the house. After Kejriwal vacated the premises following his resignation as the CM, Atishi moved in but she was subsequently forced to vacate as the Public Works Department said it was not formally alloted to her. The BJP has continuously played up the controversy, counting on it as a poll plank in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections.

Sachdeva said: “This was the ‘sheesh mahal’ which Kejriwal wanted to hide from the people of Delhi. We have shown the first video of it. It is not a CM residence, it is a museum of corruption. They should open it for the people.”

BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal said: “Kejriwal’s ‘Sheesh Mahal’ is a blot on the democracy of the country. The ‘Sheesh Mahal’ has demolished the narrative of ‘Aam Aadmi’ set by Arvind Kejriwal.”

BJP MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat alleged that crores of rupees from public funds were used on the house, and Kejriwal defrauded the people of Delhi. “AAP leaders should be ashamed that when the nation was going through Covid-19, they were making ‘Sheesh Mahal’. Kejriwal has committed a huge fraud against the people of Delhi,” she said.

In an official statement, the AAP said: “Ever since Arvind Kejriwal started raising the issue of Delhi’s worsening law and order, the BJP has tried to divert attention by fixating on the official residence of the Delhi CM. Arvind Kejriwal does not live in that house anymore. It has been more than three months since he vacated it. It is the official residence of Delhi’s CM.”

Hitting out at the BJP over a rise in crimes, the AAP said: “While Delhiites live in fear, unsafe even in their own homes, BJP leaders openly say that law and order is not an issue to them, failing their most basic duty—public safety. Instead of addressing this crisis, the BJP runs a smear campaign with its ‘Kejriwal Hatao’ agenda, while Arvind Kejriwal remains focused on ‘Delhi Bachao’.”