Further details about the ‘renovation’ of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s residence on Civil Lines road in Delhi have emerged that reveal that the AAP supremo, who has time and again diligently portrayed himself as a common man, has spent Rs 1.45 crore just on the toilets. The report by Times Now stated that around 15 toilets have been constructed in Kejriwal’s house and each of these bathrooms has cost Rs 15 lakhs.
Meanwhile, sanitary installations in these bathrooms cost Rs 10.78 lakhs, while the special shower tools in the house cost Rs 91 lakhs. 12 glass shower closures separately cost Rs 3.61 lakh and a hot water generator cost Rs 25 lakh. As per Times Now media reports, the toilets installed in the Delhi CM’s house are high-tech and can be operated with remote controls at convenience.
#OperationSheeshMahal | From Rs 15 lakh toilet vanity to Rs 91 lakhs of shower cubicles & to hot water generator that costs Rs 25 lakhs, Arvind Kejriwal's residence has all of this.
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) April 27, 2023
Total spent on washrooms is Rs 1 crore 45 lakhs: @PadmajaJoshi breaks down details of each item. pic.twitter.com/6vZXl4wz1m
The renovation work undertaken at the Delhi CM’s home has been criticised by the BJP. The opposition party in Delhi stated that when Delhi was struggling with Covid, CM of Delhi was spending crores on getting his house renovated. The BJP also demanded Delhi CM’s resignation over this issue. Interestingly, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) responded to the criticism and has slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi instead for allegedly wasting the taxpayer’s money.
"AAP will stage a massive protest tomorrow (April 28) against the squandering of public money by the 4th pass Raja of our country," AAP MP, #RaghavChadha tells the media in response to the revelations of #OperationSheeshMahal. pic.twitter.com/IngrHs2gw2
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) April 27, 2023
AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha, on April 27, said that the party would stage massive protests against the BJP-led Central Government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ‘squandering’ public money. “The prices of milk, petrol, diesel, CNG gas, cooking gas, and what not have skyrocketed since the BJP has come to power. PM Modi has built a new palace worth Rs 1300 crores, he has bought a ship worth Rs 8400 crores, he does foreign tours costing Rs 1500 crores, beautified his home for Rs 90 crores, and also spent Rs 56 crores for decoration at Yoga event,” he said.
जनता के Tax के पैसे से ऐश करता #चौथी_पास_राजा
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) April 27, 2023
▪️नया महल: 1300 Cr
▪️जहाज :8400 Cr
▪️विदेशी दौरे: 1500 Cr
▪️निवास का सौंदर्यीकरण: 90 Cr
▪️Yoga Event की सजावट: 56 Cr
▪️Karnataka में 1 hr का उद्घाटन: 10 Cr
चौथी पास राजा की मौज-मस्ती, ऐश के ख़िलाफ़ Protest करेगी AAP
–@raghav_chadha pic.twitter.com/XBbB28ESC8
He also added that the party condemns ‘wastage’ of taxpayers money by PM Modi and that it would launch massive protest agaisnt whom he referred to as the ‘uneducated king’.
Earlier it was reported that the Delhi CM’s residence was approximately renovated for Rs 44.78 crores, out of which more than Rs 1 crore was sanctioned to buy only the curtains. Kejriwal is said to have selected a curtain design costing Rs 7,94,000 per piece for his residence and had ordered 23 such curtain pieces. He also ordered ‘Deor Pearl Marble’, known for its superior quality for Rs 3.30 crores. The said amount was used to buy the marble and polish it. Additionally, Rs 21,60,000 was spent on the chemical adhesive used to fix the marble.
Further, the Chief Minister ordered 6 hand-crafted wool carpets for a total of Rs 20 lakhs. Rs 63 lakhs were spent on renovating two kitchens and Rs 4 crores were spent on wall paneling. Additionally, another Rs 40 lakhs were spent on redoing the wardrobes and dressers in his room, his parents, and also the bedrooms of his two children.
Now, it has also come to the fore that the Delhi CM spent an additional Rs 1 lakh each for 24 decorated pillars installed in his house. Further, he is also said to have spent Rs 88 lakhs for smart lighting along with Rs 2.16 crores for artistic, and ornamental work and Rs 41 lakhs for superior wooden doors and automatic sliding glass doors.
#OperationSheeshMahal | Welcome to Delhi CM's SheeshMahal!
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) April 27, 2023
Rs 88 lakhs of smart lighting, along with Rs 2.16 crores of artistic, ornamental work & Rs 41 lakhs of superior wooden doors & automatic sliding glass doors- Here's all you can find inside CM's residence.@PadmajaJoshi pic.twitter.com/ird8qiR1ot
It is worth noting that last year, the Delhi CM also used several crores of taxpayer’s money to construct a swimming pool inside his residence. It was also said that Kejriwal had got the pool modeled as per the standards of luxury Maldives hotels.
The BJP took cognisance of the renovation and stated that when Delhi was struggling with Covid, the CM of Delhi was spending crores on getting his house renovated. Calling Kejriwal a ‘luxurious king’ and demanding his resignation, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Ramvir Bidhuri added, “In 2013, he used to say he will neither take a house, security or official vehicle. But he ended up spending Rs 45 crore on the renovation of his house.”
The AAP defended the expenditure and released a statement claiming that the amount spent on renovation had to be seen in the context of the amount spent by other governments on similar projects. “The estimate for the new Prime Minister’s sprawling house alone is Rs 467 crore, while the actual cost of the Central Vista project is estimated to be Rs 20,000 crore. Further, the renovation cost of the PM’s 7 RCR residence was three times the estimate. Just renovation was carried out at a whopping Rs 89 crore against an estimated cost of Rs 27 crore,” the party had said in its statement.
