Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Saturday launched his first attack at AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal since merging with the BJP along with six other MPs. He backed the BJP's ‘Sheesh Mahal 2’ charge against Kejriwal and said that the AAP must introspect.
Chadha also said that the controversy surrounding the former Delhi chief minister's residence, dubbed the ‘sheesh mahal’ by the BJP earlier, was one of the key reasons for the AAP's loss in the Delhi assembly elections. Follow live updates on Raghav Chadha and other AAP MPs' BJP merger
“Sheesh Mahal Part Two has come in Delhi. Some pictures of it have surfaced. If there was one major reason for the Aam Aadmi Party's loss in the Delhi elections,” Chadha said in a media interaction on Saturday.
His attack on Kejriwal came hours after the BJP levelled similar accusations of lavish living on the AAP leader. At a press conference this morning, Delhi minister and BJP leader Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma said: “After he was forced out of Sheesh Mahal by Dhurandhar voters of Delhi, he shifted to Punjab, where he grabbed a bungalow, and now he has prepared Sheesh Mahal 2 at Lodhi Estate”.
BJP shares pics, AAP says ‘downloaded from Pinterest’
The pictures Raghav Chadha was referring to in his fresh attack on Kejriwal were of the Type VII bungalow allotted by the Centre to Kejriwal as chief of AAP. The BJP flashed the pictures during the press conference today, accusing Kejriwal of using “private money” to create superior quality amenities at the bungalow.
{{/usCountry}}The pictures Raghav Chadha was referring to in his fresh attack on Kejriwal were of the Type VII bungalow allotted by the Centre to Kejriwal as chief of AAP. The BJP flashed the pictures during the press conference today, accusing Kejriwal of using “private money” to create superior quality amenities at the bungalow.
{{/usCountry}}However, the AAP has rejected the pictures as “fake, false, and baseless". AAP leader Atishi even said that the pictures were downloaded from Pinterest to defame Kejriwal.
“What times these have become for them - when they can't find anything against Kejriwal ji, they're making false claims based on images picked up from the internet. Parvesh Verma ji: You could've used AI for this instead; theft doesn't get caught that quickly,” Atishi wrote on X.
What is the Sheesh Mahal controversy?
This is not the first time the BJP has used the ‘Sheesh Mahal’ weapon to target AAP and Arvind Kejriwal. Before the Lodhi Estate property, the BJP questioned the renovation and interiors of 6, Flagstaff Road bungalow in Civil Lines that Kejriwal resided in as chief minister of Delhi till September 2024.
In March this year, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit report dated March 31, 2022, revealed some more details related to Kejriwal's previous residence.
The report, tabled in the Delhi Legislative Assembly by the BJP, cited sharp cost escalations, procedural lapses and missing records. The audit found that the Public Works Department (PWD) initially prepared a preliminary estimate of ₹7.91 crore for additions and alterations. The work was awarded at ₹8.62 crore, but final expenditure rose sharply to ₹33.66 crore – more than four times the initial estimate.
Raghav Chadha's big BJP move
Days after his rift with the AAP first emerged after his removal as the party's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Raghav Chadha, along with six other MPs, announced that they were merging with the BJP.
“We have decided that we, 2/3rd of members belonging to the AAP in Rajya Sabha, exercise the provisions of the Constitution of India and merge with the BJP,” Chadha told mediapersons on Friday.
Notably, Ashok Mittal, whom AAP chose to replace Chadha in the key Rajya Sabha post, was also among the MPs who joined Raghav Chadha in merging with the BJP.