New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were already reeling under the Raghav Chadha effect.
A day after Chadha led an exodus of AAP Rajya Sabha MPs into BJP fold, the saffron party launched a stinging attack on former Delhi chief minister Kejriwal.
Alleging that Kejriwal had built a second ‘Sheesh Mahal’, BJP leader and Delhi’s deputy CM Parvesh Verma called him the ‘Rehman dacoit of Delhi’.
Addressing a press conference, Verma accused Kejriwal of leading a luxurious life, contrary to claims of simplicity, and showed visuals of what he claimed were from the AAP chief’s new residence.
“Delhi ka Sheesh Mahal 2 hum apko dikhane ja rahe hain (We will show you Delhi’s ‘Sheesh Mahal 2’),” Verma said, displaying some images.
Verma said that Kejriwal shifted his focus to Punjab after being defeated in the Delhi election.
“Delhi ke voters ne is ‘Rehman dacoit’ ko hara diya, toh woh Punjab chale gaye. Bhagwant Mann pareshaan hai (After being defeated by Delhi voters, he moved to Punjab, and CM Bhagwant Mann is worried),” Verma said.
Rehman dacoit, a notorious Karachi gangster based in Lyari, was portrayed by Akshaye Khanna in the blockbuster Bollywood film ‘Dhurandhar’.
The BJP leader alleged that several AAP leaders, including Kejriwal, former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and former deputy CM Manish Sisodia were occupying government accommodations around Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann’s residence.
Verma then referred to Kejriwal’s recent move into a government bungalow at 95 Lodhi Estate in Delhi.
“Kal woh 95 Lodhi Estate mein shift hue hain, jo bolte the aam aadmi ki tarah rahunga (He shifted to 95 Lodhi Estate yesterday, the same person who said he would live like a common man),” Verma said.
“When I visited the earlier ‘Sheesh Mahal’, I wondered how someone could sleep in such a luxurious house.. kaise neend aati hogi (how do they even sleep there?),” Verma added, as he showed mediapersons visuals purportedly from Kejriwal’s new residence.
Verma pointed out that Kejriwal had earlier said he won’t take a government house but later accepted a bungalow and upgraded it into what the BJP describes as a ‘Sheesh Mahal’.
AAP dismissed BJP allegation
Dismissing Verma’s claims, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh called the visuals “completely fake”, and said the BJP and television channels airing them should be prepared to face defamation cases.
Singh also challenged Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena and Parvesh Verma to open their residences to the public, adding that Kejriwal would do the same. “The public will then see whose house is truly luxurious,” Singh said.
Delhi minister Atishi also rubbished BJP’s claims. “All the pictures released by Parvesh Verma are fake. They are not images of Kejriwal’s house,” she said.
On Friday, seven AAP MPs — Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Swati Maliwal, Vikram Sahney and Rajendra Gupta — quit the party and announced their merger with the BJP.
