Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal spent more than Rs 45 crore on renovating his residence, the BJP said on Wednesday, accusing him of extravagant hypocrisy, and prompting emphatic rebuttals involving videos of crumbling ceilings by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said Mr Kejriwal, who leads the AAP, had betrayed his promise of promoting honesty and simplicity when he entered politics. He called him a "Maharaja," or king, and said he had a "lust for luxury and comfort."
Mr Patra also alleged, without evidence, that Mr Kejriwal had offered Rs 20 to 50 crore to media houses to suppress the story, but they had ignored his offer.
He cited documents that showed that Mr Kejriwal's residence had been fitted with expensive marble from Vietnam, pre-fabricated wooden walls and curtains that cost lakhs of rupees each. One curtain alone cost more than Rs 7.94 lakh, he said.
"This is the story of a shameless king," Mr Patra said at a news conference.
He contrasted Mr Kejriwal's lavish spending with his earlier speeches, in which he had criticised politicians for living in ostentatious houses and enjoying other facilities at public expense. He had also claimed that he was content with a four- or five-room house and did not need a bigger one.
Mr Patra asked Mr Kejriwal to address a news conference and answer all questions about his residence renovation in the same fashion that the AAP leader had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come clean on doubts about his educational qualifications.
Mr Kejriwal did not immediately respond to the allegations. His party, which has near-daily run-ins with the BJP, accused it of hiding the condition of the house Mr Kejriwal was allotted and posted videos showing the dilapidated condition of the Chief Minister's home before renovation.
"Rs 80 crore was spent on the 3-hour visit of friend Donald Trump. The Chief Ministers of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh take aircraft worth Rs 200 crore for themselves. No channel has the guts to debate this," AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar tweeted.
"Arvind Kejriwal was allotted a bungalow built in 1942, smaller than 1 acre, whose roof fell thrice. Once the roof of his parents' room fell down and once where they held Janata Durbar. The painting/repair of the Lieutenant Governor's bungalow spread over 6 acres is more than the cost of building a house for the Chief Minister of Delhi," she said.
Targeting Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, the representative of the BJP-led government at the centre to the capital's administration, Ms Kakkar said, "Sir BJP's media is saying that Arvind Kejriwal ji has built a palace worth 45 crores for himself. You take this palace, and give your poor house to Arvind ji so that the debate can take place on public issues."
AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the controversy had been stoked to distract people from real issues. "The Prime Minister, who calls himself a fakir, is getting a house built for himself with Rs 500 crore. Rs 90 crore was spent in renovating the house where he is living now," he said.
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