The Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) on Wednesday locked 6, Flag Staff Road, the bungalow that chief minister Atishi moved into days ago, prompting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to allege that she was “forcibly” evicted and her “belongings removed” as the imbroglio over the controversial Civil Lines residence plummetted the Capital into another bizarre political tussle.
Atishi’s office in a brief statement said the bungalow was sealed at the behest of the lieutenant governor and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), “which is trying occupy the CM’s residence”.
However, the LG’s office said the house was sealed for inventorisation and that it would be allotted to the incumbent chief minister once the process is complete.
Meanwhile, the BJP asked PWD to conduct a “complete investigation” of the bungalow, which has been mired in controversy for several months, after the party accused former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal of spending ₹45 crore renovating it.
The drama began on Monday, when Atishi moved into the bungalow, days after Kejriwal vacated it. PWD officials suggested she was not officially allocated the residence and claimed its keys were not in its possession.
Last week, Kejriwal and Sisodia moved to new homes in Lutyens’ Delhi assigned to the AAP’s Rajya Sabha members. Kejriwal shifted to 5, Firoz Shah Road, a central government property allotted to AAP MP Ashok Mittal, and Sisodia and his family, who first lived in AB-17 Mathura Road as it was allotted to them and then as guests of Atishi, moved to 32, Rajendra Prasad Road, allotted to another AAP Rajya Sabha MP, Harbhajan Singh.
Unlike most other states, Delhi has no official chief ministerial residence and previous occupants of the city’s top elected office have lived at different locations.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh on Wednesday morning addressed a press conference and said that the camp office inside the office complex at 6, Flag Staff Road was forcibly vacated.
“Despite official correspondence, the chief minister’s residence was not allotted to Atishi, who is the rightful allottee as the chief minister of Delhi. Although a temporary office was set up at the residence and meetings were held, the staff was later evacuated, and it was declared that the office would not operate from there,” said Singh while speaking at a press conference at AAP headquarters.
Hours later, the chief minister’s office said Atishi was being forcefully evicted and the bungalow “sealed”.
“For the first time in the history of the country, the chief minister’s residence was vacated. On the instructions of BJP, LG forcibly removed CM Atishi’s belongings from the CM residence. LG is preparing to allot the CM residence to a big BJP leader. BJP, which has been in exile in Delhi for 27 years, is now trying to occupy the CM residence,” the statement said.
AAP MLA and senior Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed Atishi’s belongings were “thrown out” of the house.
The party also circulated videos that showed officials of the CMO purportedly shifting her belongings out of the house in SUVs and mini trucks.
A senior PWD official, however, said the keys of the house had not been handed back to the department despite the communication to the chief minister’s office on October 6 and added that it had put up “a double lock” on the house to keep trespassers at bay.
A PWD team was present in the bungalow along with security personnel till late night on Wednesday. Access to outsiders was restricted.
Earlier, PWD officials said that an agency team, which visited the bungalow to complete the handover process when Kejriwal vacated the house, was not returned the keys of the house.
“It is brought to your attention that the keys of the house at 6, Flag Staff Road handed over to PWD were taken back after sometime are yet to be handed over to PWD to complete the process of handing over,” PWD said in a letter to Pravesh Ranjan Jha, special secretary in the chief minister’s office.
The letter, which did not specify how the keys were “taken back”, said that vigilance cases concerning constructions at the bungalow were underway, which necessitated an inspection “to take detailed stock of inventories before allotting the house to someone else”.
Sanjay Singh, however, denied this claim.
“The BJP is propagating this misinformation… In gross defiance of protocol, officers have not allotted official chief minister’s residence to Atishi under the BJP’s pressure,” he said.
Officials from the LG secretariat concurred with PWD and said Kejriwal did not return possession of the bungalow to the agency, adding that the house has not been allocated to
Atishi has, as a minister in the Delhi government, has already been allotted the bungalow at Mathura Road, the LG office said.
“This bungalow is not the designated CM house and Atishi moved her goods without allotment and now she has herself removed them. AAP should not worry. After the due process is followed and an inventory is prepared, the house will be immediately allocated to the current chief minister,” said an official in the LG’s office.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said that the sealing of the bungalow was “in line with public aspirations” and that PWD should conduct a video graphic survey of the building.
“BJP has been continuously demanding an investigation and sealing of the building, and now every detail about this bungalow should be made public. the hurried efforts by the CM to occupy the bungalow without adhering to government allotment rules clearly indicate that there is something they want to hide,” he added.