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Kejriwal's official bungalow can't be rebuilt from scratch as…: Ajay Maken
'This is the first time we got to know Dior marble and curtains worth crore can strengthen the roof,' BJP's Shehzad Poonawalla said.
Amid the row over the Delhi government spending ₹45 crore for the renovation and rebuilding of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's house, Congress leader Ajay Maken said Kejriwal's residence can only be renovated and not rebuilt from scratch as it is a British-era building. If it has been rebuilt, then it is illegal, the Congress leader said at a television debate after Aam Aadmi Party claimed that ₹45 crore was not for renovation and was for entirely rebuilding the house as the 80-year-old building was in a dilapidated state and the roofs caved in thrice. "As a former urban development minister who had prepared the masterplan of Delhi, let me tell Raghav Chadha that it is totally illegal if the bungalow has been rebuilt," Maken said. Raghav Chadha said the reconstruction was approved by the then BJP-ruled MCD and the PWD that reported to the L-G. "The reconstruction has been approved at every level," Raghav said.
"Central Public Works Department (CPWD) was under me and I remember when my ceiling was caving in, we got it repaired in ₹2-4 lakh. We never thought of getting these curtains, blankets totalling ₹45 crore," Ajay Maken said.
A massive controversy has erupted over the work order of Kejriwal's official residence at 6 Flagstaff Road in Civil Lines. BJP leaders on Wednesday held a protest outside Kejriwal's residence.
As BJP's Sambit Patra charged AAP and revealed that marble worth ₹1.15 crore was brought from Vietnam and ₹4 crore was spent on pre-fabricated wooden walls, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said the bungalow was entirely rebuilt as the roofs collapsed thrice -- once in the room where Kejriwal's parents live.
"This is the first time that we got to know that Dior marble and curtains of ₹1 crore can strengthen the roof," BJP's national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said.
Amid the BJP versus AAP, Congress's Ajay Maken has been vocal against Kejriwal while the Congress officially has not spoken on the issue. In fact, when Kejriwal was issued a notice from the CBI in connection with the liquor probe, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called up Kejriwal. Maken, however, differed from this stance and urged lawyers of the party to not represent Kejriwal legally.
On the bungalow issue, Maken made a long Twitter post in which he said, "Arvind Kejriwal, who had previously been known for espousing principles of austerity, had claimed to represent the common man and promised to provide a set of elected representatives who would eschew lavish styles of living, have no security, and travel like ordinary persons. In fact, he had even circulated a printed copy of a sworn affidavit promising to uphold these values during his political campaigns."
"However, his actions seem to contradict these principles, as he reportedly spent a significant amount of public funds on creating a luxurious living space for himself and his family. The people of Delhi should now decide if such a person has any right to continue as the Chief Minister, even for a minute," Ajay Maken added.
