Arvind Kejriwal Home Renovation Row: BJP's "Like Saddam, Kim Jong's" Charge

Arvind Kejriwal lives in opulence like Iraq's Saddam Hussein and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the BJP said on Friday, presenting pictures and videos of the Delhi Chief Minister's renovated home.

Doubling down on its charge that Mr Kejriwal, who launched his career in politics dissing VIP culture, had spent Rs 45 crore on renovating the official residence, the BJP has bombarded social media with visuals of a two-storey bungalow with white columns, marble floors, fancy lighting, and automatic doors.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is yet to react to the pictures, but its supporters on social media tried to firefight the campaign by posting accounts of PM Modi's clothes, vehicles, aircraft and his new residential complex which the party has alleged will cost Rs 500 crore.

At a news conference in Delhi, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi played videos of Mr Kejriwal's old statements in which he presented himself as a crusader against political leaders spending public money on maintaining expensive lifestyles, including big houses, and luxurious cars.

He also hit out at Mr Kejriwal, quoting a 2013 tweet of his in which he had targeted the then Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit for allegedly having 10 ACs in her house when so many people lived in slums.

Taking a dig at Mr Kejriwal over the sensor-controlled doors, the BJP leader said the AAP chief "ran everything from his party to governments, including the one in Punjab, by remote control".

"Kejriwal's luxurious palace unveils so many truths about him. The extent of the luxury Kejriwal's palace possesses seems similar to Saddam Hussein's and Kim Jong-un's palaces, one has heard," he said.

The BJP's campaign against Mr Kejriwal over the spending on the Chief Minister's residence comes in the wake of the AAP leader's attacks on PM Modi with allegations of falsifying education qualifications. The BJP has denied the charges.

Earlier this week, responding to the BJP organising a hunger strike over the issue, AAP chief spokesperson and Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj in a tweet said the opposition party's demonstration had "flopped".

"Leave aside the people of Delhi, even BJP workers do not want to join the conspiracy against the Chief Minister. Janta is saying that this Chief Minister's residence is not the private property of @ArvindKejriwal. Whoever becomes CM will remain there. Kejriwal ji works for people," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak said the hunger strike has found no support among the people of Delhi as the BJP was "indulging in politics of lies".

"Bharatiya Nautanki Party only knows theatrics. Their indefinite fast has completely failed. This morning, we clicked pictures at 8.30 am, 9.30 am and 10.30 am, and there was nobody at the protest site," the AAP leader claimed.

"Leave aside the people of Delhi, even BJP workers are not participating in the strike because they know that the saffron party is indulging in politics of lies," Mr Pathak added.