After Chief Minister Atidhi was on Wednesday asked to vacate the Delhi CM’s Civil Lines residence, earlier occupied by her predecessor Kejriwal, by officials of the Public Works Department (PWD), two days after she moved in.
The development marks an escalation in the row around the CM’s residence – while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claims Atishi moved in after taking care of formalities, the PWD says an official “handover” of the property from Kejriwal to the department is yet to take place. It is also the latest in a series of confrontations between the elected government and the bureaucracy, Indian Express reported.
PWD officials said the house has been sealed.
In the afternoon, a cycle-rickshaw and a mini truck were seen leaving the CM’s residence with a cupboard and some cardboard boxes. The baggage scanner near the entry gate was covered with a white cloth. Officials also said the CM Camp office was shut down and the staff were asked to leave the premises.
Delhi Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj questioned the move and said it “reeked of conspiracy”. He also asked if an inventory of Raj Niwas was done by the PWD before the L-G moved in in 2022. In a post on X, Bharadwaj wrote, “With due respect, I would like to ask L-G Sahib whether the old L-G handed over the keys of Raj Niwas to PWD and if an inventory was done before the new L-G shifted in?”
Calling the move unprecedented, the CM’s Office said, “For the first time in the history of the country, the Chief Minister has been asked to vacate her house. The L-G has forcibly removed CM Atishi’s belongings at the behest of the BJP. Preparations are underway on behalf of the L-G to allot the CM’s residence to a big BJP leader. The BJP, which has been in exile in Delhi for 27 years, now wants to capture the CM’s residence.”
Raj Niwas officials, however, said the Lieutenant Governor was uninformed about processes. “The ownership of the President House, Raj Bhavans and Raj Niwas lie with the President, the Governor and Lt-Governor, respectively, and not with the CPWD/PWD or any other agency, unlike in the case of PM, CMs, ministers, judges or other government houses.”
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“With regards to the shifting of L-G V K Saxena, inventory of Delhi Raj Niwas was duly conducted by the L-G Secretariat, before he moved in. Raj Niwas remains an open house for anyone and everyone to visit ever since Saxena took over,” said an official, adding that 65,000 people have visited Raj Niwas since June 2022, Indian Express reported.
Kejriwal, who resigned on September 17, shortly after his release on bail from prison, had vacated the house last Friday and moved to bungalow no. 5 on Ferozshah Road on October 4. The same day, Atishi’s office had written to the PWD to allot the residence to her. She moved into the CM residence on October 7. The BJP had criticised her for moving in without PWD approval.
Atishi, according to PWD officials, is in possession of the keys, but not an official allotment letter. Sources said a team of PWD officials visited the 6, Flagstaff Road bungalow around 11-11.30 am on Wednesday, and got the keys to the house from her by afternoon, IE reported.
After she was made to vacate the CM residence, Atishi was seen signing a file amidst packed luggage and cardboard boxes and her private residence.
Notably, this is not the first time the bungalow has been in the news – last year, Kejriwal and his party had faced criticism from the BJP and Congress over alleged irregularities in the reconstruction of the building. While Kejriwal was allotted the house in 2015, it was rebuilt in 2020-21.
While the AAP accused government officials of “defying protocol” to deliberately withhold allotment of the CM’s residence to Atishi, alleging they were acting under pressure from the BJP, the Delhi BJP and the Delhi Congress questioned the hurry to shift into the bungalow.