The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday launched a sharp attack on Arvind Kejriwal over his recent move to a government bungalow in Lodhi Estate, with Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma dubbing him “Delhi’s Rehman Dakait” and taking a swipe using a “Dhurandhar” reference to question his claims of a simple lifestyle.
Calling Kejriwal’s new type-VII government bungalow a “Sheesh Mahal part two,” the Delhi Minister said: “He (Arvind Kejriwal) is Delhi’s ‘Rehman Dakait’. And today, just like the sequel to the film Dhurandhar, the sequel to ‘Sheeshmahal’ has arrived. Yesterday, we learned that he had moved into 95 Lodhi Estate. We were shocked when the picture surfaced.”
Verma further said Kejriwal had earlier pledged to live like a common man without availing government luxuries, but his new residence suggests otherwise. He said the BJP was taken aback after visuals of the bungalow at 95 Lodhi Estate surfaced.
“Now, when he got a new bungalow at 95 Lodhi Estate. When the pictures of it came out, we were astonished. The man who said he would live simply today lives in a luxurious manner,” he said.
The BJP leader further alleged that while the property is government-allotted, the expenditure on its interiors did not come from public funds.
“This is a government-allocated house, but the money invested in this house is not government funds. Last time he said that the PWD invested the money, but in this house, every penny invested is private money,” Verma said.
He also described the interiors as lavish, claiming that the residence features multiple bedrooms and high-end amenities. “His own bedroom is looking like Goa’s 7-star hotel room. There are a total of five bedrooms,” he added.
Kejriwal Shifts To Lodhi Estate Bungalow
Verma’s remarks come after Kejriwal on Friday moved into a Type-VII government bungalow at 95 Lodhi Estate after the accommodation was allotted to him by the Centre.
In a post on X, Kejriwal said the Central government had recently allocated the residence following court directions, taking into account his role as the party’s national convenor. He added that he has shifted to the new residence along with his family.
The Type-VII bungalow had been allotted to Kejriwal in October last year, with the AAP confirming at the time that he would relocate to the Lodhi Estate residence. The party had earlier said the allotment followed questions raised by the Delhi High Court to the Centre regarding his accommodation.
During his tenure as Delhi chief minister, Kejriwal resided at 6 Flag Staff Road. After stepping down from the post in September 2024, he had moved to another government bungalow allotted to Ashok Mittal.
AAP Rebuts BJP’s Allegations
The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday hit back at the Bharatiya Janata Party following its criticism of Arvind Kejriwal’s move to a Lodhi Estate bungalow, alleging that “fake” and misleading visuals were being circulated to target the former Delhi chief minister.
Responding to remarks made by Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma, the AAP claimed that the images shown to the media were not of Kejriwal’s new residence.
In a sharp rebuttal, the party said, “Parvesh Verma showed fake pictures. These are not images of Kejriwal’s new house.”
The AAP also challenged BJP leaders to open their own residences to public scrutiny.
“Rekha Gupta should open her house for the media. Kejriwal ji will also show his new house to everyone,” the party said, referring to the Delhi CM.
