New Delhi: The Congress Thursday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government over reports of Rs 45 crore allegedly being spent on the renovation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s official residence amid Covid pandemic, calling it “a slap on the face of its voters”. Amid opposition unity talks, there is an apparent dichotomy in the attitude of Congress’s state and central units over the issue.
Speaking at the party headquarters in New Delhi Thursday, Pawan Khera, head of the media wing of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), said: “When people were struggling due to lack of oxygen during Covid, what was he (Kejriwal) doing? Rs 45 crore spent to renovate his house, build a swimming pool, install curtains worth lakhs and crores, fitting tiles… is this the government of the aam aadmi (common man)?… This is the same government that used to blow its own trumpet when it came to honesty and simplicity…” Khera said.
He referred to the 2013 affidavit for austerity submitted by all AAP leaders in which they pledged to live like a common man.
On Wednesday, the AAP had defended the move saying the bungalow was around 80 years old and needed renovation after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made the allegations citing media reports.
Congress party media department head compared Kejriwal’s term to that of his predecessor, Congress stalwart and three-time CM of Delhi, late Sheila Dixit.
Raising questions over the security deployed outside the Kejriwal’s residence, Khera asked: “Can even an MLA go inside the CM’s residence?”
“For 15 years, from Monday to Sunday, (former CM) Sheila Dixit would meet the common public for 2-3 hours every morning… even without appointments. The gates would be open and anyone could go and meet. MLAs could come when they wanted,” he added.
He further said: “You can pull out the details of Sheila Dixit and her ministers… how much they spent on maintaining their bungalows and repairing them. Compare that to Rs 45 crore spent on the CM’s residence. It is shameful… It’s like slapping their voters”.
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Dharam Sankat for state unit?
Khera’s comments come at a time when the opposition parties in the country are making efforts to unite against the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Notably, last month, several opposition parties, including the AAP, met the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence during the Parliament session. Earlier this month, Kharge dialled Arvind Kejriwal to offer his support when the latter was summoned by the ED in the Delhi excise policy case.
When asked about the dichotomy in the Congress’s attitude towards the AAP, Khera said that the two viewpoints can “co-exist”.
“The fact that Mr Kharge called the AAP is a healthy tradition. It is a way to strengthen inter-personal relationships because all of us should maintain good relations with each other given the kind of fight we are fighting. But that doesn’t mean that when such an infraction comes to the fore, we won’t say anything… Both can co-exist,” he said.
Curiously, no organisational functionary of the Delhi Congress has spoken on the issue of the alleged Rs 45 crore renovation.
Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhary, who had launched a scathing attack on AAP minister Manish Sisodia when he was arrested in the excise policy case, has not issued any statement over the controversy around Kejriwal’s home renovation.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a functionary of the Delhi Congress told ThePrint Thursday the state unit was in a “dharam sankat”.
“We were speaking against the AAP even after the meeting in Kharge ji’s house… But after the phone call (by Kharge to Kejriwal) we have backed off. We cannot distance ourselves from the comments of the Congress president,” the functionary said.
The only leader from Delhi who’s been consistently speaking against Kejriwal is former Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken.
“Arvind Kejriwal, who had previously been known for espousing principles of austerity, had claimed to represent the common man and promised to provide a set of elected representatives who would eschew lavish styles of living, have no security, and travel like ordinary persons…,” he said in the tweet.
Maken even questioned Kejriwal’s right to remain in his position as a public servant, saying “his actions seem to contradict these principles”.
#OperationSheeshMahal
Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, has been accused of reportedly spending public funds on a lavish 7-star residential facility for himself during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to official records, a total of Rs. 44.78 Cr. was spent on the…
— Ajay Maken (@ajaymaken) April 26, 2023
According to reports, Maken had also said that the Congress should show “no sympathy” to Kejriwal when the latter was summoned by the ED. His statement was seen as sharp contrast to Kharge’s outreach.
At the time, a senior AICC functionary had pointed out that Maken had used the term “I” in his statement and not “we”, meaning that it was a personal statement.
The same functionary Thursday pointed out how the Congress has not sidelined Maken’s attack on Kejriwal for the renovation scandal as personal opinion. “Mr. Maken has said what has to be said on the matter. We didn’t distance ourselves from his comments,” said the functionary.
Another AICC functionary said that the party is following a principle of “issue-based support” with the AAP.
“They (AAP) didn’t support us when Rahul (Gandhi) and Sonia ji were called in the National Herald case. We cannot support this, even if talks of opposition unity are on. These two issues are on a different plane,” said the functionary.
(Edited by Anumeha Saxena)
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