Soon after reports emerged that the PWD has sealed the official residence of Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, the AAP slammed the BJP and said the saffron party is making every possible effort to snatch the powers of the elected AAP government, stop the work of the elected government and now they want to snatch the CM residence and give it to some BJP leader.
AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar says "Delhi LG has to understand that the basic minimum requirement to live in the CM residence is to win the election in Delhi. BJP has not been able to win in Delhi for 27 years and they are making every possible effort to snatch the powers of the elected AAP government, stop the work of the elected government and now they want to snatch the CM residence and give it to some BJP leader. Today, the anti-women mentality of the BJP is once again in front of everyone. They threw out the belongings of a woman Chief Minister during Navratri...BJP has always resorted to lies. On 4th October, the former Chief Minister duly handed over the keys to the Section Officer of PWD. The entire procedure was followed...."
Delhi CMO issues statement
The Delhi CMO earlier in the evening said the Delhi chief minister's residence at 6, Flagstaff Road in Civil Lines was forcibly vacated at the behest of the BJP as Lt Governor V K Saxena wants to allot it to a saffron party leader.
The allegation has set a stage for another round of tussle between the AAP dispensation and the LG office.
What LG office said on residence row
In the meantime, sources at the LG office claimed that the 6, Flagstaff Road bungalow is not the official residence of the chief minister and that it has not been allotted to CM Atishi so far. Atishi kept her belongings there without allotment and later herself removed them from there, the sources said.
The PWD owns the bungalow and takes possession after it is vacated. The bungalow's allotment is done by it after proper inventory of goods kept there.
The AAP should not be worried and this bungalow after preparation of inventory will be immediately allotted to the chief minister, the sources at the LG office said.
Chief Minister Atishi moved with her belongings to the bungalow in North Delhi's Civil Lines area on Monday. It was occupied for over nine years by her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal who vacated it after resigning as chief minister.
Saurabh Bharadwaj slams LG over residence row
Meanwhile, Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, in a post on X, alleged that the LG was "planting" in the media that CM Atishi's belongings were removed because she did not give its keys and it will be allotted to her after an inventory of items was prepared.
In another post, he questioned the LG if the keys of Raj Niwas were handed over by his predecessor to the PWD and if any inventory was prepared when he shifted there.
Delhi BJP welcomes PWD move
Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta, in a statement, welcomed "sealing" of the bungalow by the PWD saying that it was inevitable. He also alleged that the bungalow was "illegally occupied" and demanded a thorough probe into it.
The BJP has been accusing Atishi of "illegally" occupying the bungalow number 6, Flagstaff Road and demanding it be sealed. The party claimed that the bungalow was not handed over to the Public Works Department (PWD) and its keys were still with Kejriwal.
