The Bharatiya Janata Party, which wrested power from the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi in the recent assembly elections, requested Lt Governor V.K. Saxena to cancel the merger of four properties with the 'Sheesh Mahal'—a term used by the saffron party to describe the official residence of former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The BJP had used 'Sheesh Mahal' as a political weapon to target the AAP and Kejriwal over corruption issues during the election campaign. It said the building, originally intended as a Type 5 bungalow, was converted into a Type 8 bungalow by Kejriwal.
The bungalow was the official residence of Kejriwal from 2015 to 2024 when he vacated it after resigning from the CM post over corruption charges.
Newley elected MLA Vijender Gupta has written to the Lt Governor, requesting him to cancel the amalgamation of the properties.
Gupta was the Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing assembly. He said the new chief minister of the BJP would not stay in the bungalow as it was under investigation over alleged irregularities.
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In his letter to the L-G, Gupta alleged that Kejriwal had converted the bungalow into "an ultra-luxurious 'Sheesh Mahal' by "illegally annexing" neighbouring government properties.
What was meant to be a standard official residence has been transformed into a lavish complex spanning more than 50,000 square meters, he alleged.
"I urgently request your intervention to restore these properties to their original independent status and return 6-lag Staff Road to its previous area of less than 10,000 square meters," Gupta said.
