NEW DELHI: Former Delhi chief minister and convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal, has been allotted a Type VII bungalow, 95, Lodhi Estate in New Delhi. The development has come days after the Delhi High Court pulled up the Centre for delaying the allotment.
“Kejriwal has been allotted an official bungalow by the Centre after it was scolded by the Delhi High Court. He was entitled to a bungalow since he is the convener of a national party," AAP national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda said.
Kejriwal and his wife Sunita Kejriwal inspected the bungalow on Monday. The AAP leader is likely to shift to the bungalow after required renovation and modifications.
The property was previously allotted to the BJP leader and former chairperson of the National Minority Commission (NMC) Iqbal Singh Laalpura, who had unsuccessfully contested assembly election in Punjab.
The Type VII bungalow, a second largest category of government residential accommodation, spreading over approximately 5,000 square feet (sqft) comprises four bedrooms, a hall, a dining room, waiting room, an office space and two lawns besides a garage, and three servant quarters.
The property allotted to Kejriwal is next to the residence of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
During his tenure as chief minister in Delhi, Kejriwal lived at an accommodation at 6, Flag Staff Road in Civil Lines. He moved out of the bungalow after he resigned on September 17 last year. Since he had no permanent government residence in the city, the AAP chief temporarily moved to a government property-- 5, Ferozeshah Road—in Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone (LBZ). The house was allotted to AAP's Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab Ashok Mittal.
Kejriwal faced corruption charges following the renovation of Flag Staff Road property. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused him of misusing Rs 33.66 crore of public funds to renovate his official bungalow in north Delhi. The party had also made it a big election issue in Delhi, calling the house ‘Sheesh Mahal’, and vowing that its chief minister will not stay there.
In 2022, Delhi government's vigilance department initiated an inquiry, on the direction of Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, into allegations of “irregularities and cost escalation" in the renovation of the Civil Lines bungalow by the PWD. Currently, the CBI is probing the matter on the complaint of then Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta, which was filed with Saxena in December 2024.
