Who Is Lying? Atishi Claims Centre Threw Her Out Of CM’s Residence For 2nd Time; BJP Says She Never Took Possession

New Delhi: A war of words, claims and counter claims, have broken out between Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over her ‘official’ residence.

Atishi alleged on Tuesday that the BJP-led Union government cancelled allotment of the CM’s residence, but the saffron party dismissed her claim saying that she was not evicted and had never taken possession of the ‘Sheeshmahal’ bungalow.

BJP refers to the 6 Flag Staff Road bungalow as ‘Sheeshmahal’ because of “expensive” renovation work done during her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal’s tenure. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report revealed that Rs 33.66 crore was spent towards renovating the 6 Flag Staff Road bungalow, which was 342 per cent more than the estimated cost of the project.

“The schedule for Delhi elections was announced today. Last night, the BJP-led central government, for the second time in three months, threw me out of my official residence, which has been allotted to me as being the CM. They cancelled the allotment of the CM residence through a letter and snatched away the residence from an elected CM of an elected government,” Atishi said at a press conference hours after Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the election schedule for Delhi.

Atishi further said that her belongings were thrown out three months back.

“The BJP thinks that they will stop us from working by snatching our houses, abusing us and speaking ill about my family. They can snatch our houses, stop our work but cannot stop our passion for working for the people of Delhi,” she said.

Refuting the CM’s charges, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya accused Atishi of lying and claimed she was allotted the ‘Sheeshmahal’ bungalow in October but didn’t take possession, forcing authorities to cancel the allotment.

In a notice dated January 6, 2025, Delhi government’s Public Works Department (PWD) said the bungalow at 6, Flag Staff Road is not a designated house for Delhi CM as it belongs to ‘General Pool’ as per official records. The CM, it claimed, has been offered allotment of Bungalow No. 2 at 8 Raj Niwas Lane, Civil Lines and Bungalow No. 115 Ansari Road Daryaganj from ‘General Pool’.

Despite multiple communications, Atishi never took physical possession of the property, PWD said in letter.

“The department’s decision to withdraw the offer was influenced by several factors: the ongoing investigations requiring periodic access to the property, the fact that the bungalow is not a designated Chief Minister’s residence but belongs to the General Pool category, and the provision that allotment is automatically cancelled if physical occupation isn’t taken within five working days of the Habitability Certificate’s issuance,” PWD stated.