BJP has hyped up the issue of costly renovation of former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence to the level of ‘sheeshmahal’ (the palace of mirrors) row. BJP staged massive protest demonstration on November 21 near the present residence of Arvind Kejriwal on Feroze Shah Road which he shifted into after his resignation as Chief Minister and leaving the CM House dubbed by BJP now as ‘sheeshmahal’. Most interesting aspect is that the turncoat from AAP to BJP, former AAP leader and minister in AAP government in Delhi Kailash Gehlot led the demonstration alleging that “extravagant items” and “luxurious fixtures” such as gold-plated toilets were used at Kejriwal’s former residence at 6, Flag Staff Road, Civil Lines.

Gahlot, after resignation from AAP, has joined the BJP just four days ago, and has claimed that the issue of the bungalow renovation was among those he had highlighted in his resignation letter to the AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal. “It is an issue which anyone who is aligned with the ideology of the AAP will find disturbing. The kind of money that has been spent on it shows to the common man that the values and principles of the AAP have been compromised,” he said.

The strategy of the BJP leaders is to drive their allegation into voters’ mind that AAP government under its leader Arvind Kejriwal has been corrupt. BJP leaders along with the turncoats have questioned the origins of furnishings added in 2022 renovation. They have demanded a probe in the extravagant expenditure on renovation at the cost of public money for turning the residence into a ‘sheeshmahal’. The Bungalow was at the centre of a controversy in 2023 over expenses on its renovation. The BJP alleged that the Delhi government spent Rs45 crore renovating the house. However, when turncoat come to the centrestage, BJP rank and file are feeling ignored, which may impact their morale.

Earlier several key leaders of AAP had been arrested by ED and CBI for corruption and money laundering, but all the leaders have ultimate been released on bail, since they have been kept in jail without trial and there was no possibility of beginning of trial in the near future. There is a general belief among the people of Delhi that AAP and its leaders have been targeted by the PM Narendra Modi led government for political reasons, and the Centre was not able to prove their allegation so far.

The AAP has called the sheeshmahal row protest by BJP near Kejriwal’s current residence as “theatrics and drama” which it alleged “stem from the BJP’s fear of losing the election” scheduled to be held early next year. The party in a statement said, “The BJP’s true agenda is to dismantle the free electricity scheme for Delhi citizens and hand over power plants to Adani, who will then charge consumers four times the rate just as in BJP-ruled states.”

Nevertheless, the Delhi BJP Chief Virendra Sachdeva has alleged, “Sheesh Mahal bungalow is the result of embezzlement of crores of rupees from the public’s hard-earned money and is a symbol of corruption. We have never heard of something as extravagant as a golden toilet seat before… The golden toilet seat, golden washbasin, silver dinner set, carpets worth Rs 50 lakh, curtains worth Rs 8 lakh, expensive stones, and even Bose speakers in all rooms and bathrooms were all installed by Kejriwal.”

Delhi is currently under severe level of pollution, and the BJP and AAP has been playing blame game, while taking little action to save people of Delhi from pollution. Three states and the Centre is directly involved in it. BJP rules Centre and Haryana, while AAP rules Delhi and Punjab. Supreme Court of India has criticised inaction or little action of the Centre and State governments as eyewash. However, pollution does not seem to become an election issue so far.

Delhi has seen the rivalry between AAP and BJP for the last one decade. BJP led government at the Centre has systematically clipped the powers of AAP led state government. Even after litigations in the Supreme Court, AAP government has alleged that senior officials are under Lieutenant Governor and they don’t listen to them. Work in Delhi Administration has been impacted by interference of the Centre is well known, while the Centre alleges AAP administration for not acting for citizen’s welfare. PM Modi has, more than once, labelled welfare schemes launched or promised by the opposition governments as ‘revdi’ to drive home his point that the ‘pack of corrupts’ distribute ‘revdi’ for power.

Arvind Kejriwal has now launched a political campaign named “Revdi par Charcha”. It is a grassroots campaign aimed at promoting AAP’s welfare initiatives in Delhi. The party has planned 65,000 meetings. Kicking off the campaign on November 22, Kejriwal said that AAP workers will engage with voters at the grassroots level, including district and booth-level office bearers, and explain what the free facilities are and how only his party can provide them.

Only recently, PM Modi had criticised Delhi for not implementing Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme, on which Kejriwal said that you give insurance of only Rs5 lakh, but we give free treatment to every citizen of Delhi worth over Rs1 crore. Delhi citizens are given by AAP free electricity, water, healthcare, education, bus ride for women as well as free pilgrimages for the elderly, and many more will come. Kejriwal alleged that BJP wants to stop them. "The BJP, which is in power in 20 states, does not offer any of these free facilities. This is because they don’t have the intention," he said. (IPA Service)