Has Delhi CM Atishi been evicted from her official residence?

Has Delhi Chief Minster Atishi been evicted from her home?

The Delhi Chief Minister’s Office has claimed that Atishi’s belongings were forcibly removed from her official residence.

Atishi had moved to Bungalow number 6 on Flagstaff Road in north Delhi’s Civil Lines on Monday.

The development came days after former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal vacated the home after resigning as chief minister

Let’s take a closer look at the row:

What happened?

According to Business Today, Public Works Department (PWD) on Wednesday sealed the official residence of the Delhi chief minister.

The PWD has claimed that Kejriwal ought to have handed over the residence’s keys.

However, the bungalow’s keys were given directly to Atishi.

As per NDTV, visuals show cartons and luggage being removed from the CM’s residence.

Sources said a double lock was put on the door of the bungalow.

Indian Express quoted sources as saying a PWD team visited the bungalow around 11.30 am on Wednesday.

They took the keys to the bungalow from Atishi in the afternoon.

Sources told the newspaper Atishi had the keys but not the allotment letter.

Three officials including the special secretary to the chief minister have been issued a show cause notice for not handing over the bungalow keys to the PWD ‘despite directions’ to do so.

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The show-cause notice states, “The said structure/building at 6 Flag Staff Road has never been earmarked as the official residence of the Chief Minister of Delhi… The matter is under examination by the CPWD, CBI as well as Directorate of Vigilance, and the matter has not attained finality due to various aspects of irregularities allegedly committed in the demolition/alteration, addition/construction of a new bungalow…”

“… the issue of irregularities committed in the construction of said bungalow is still under investigation and authorities concerned might have to take inventory of the said building and various items inside it… PWD wrote to the special secretary regarding this, but he has not handed over the keys despite directions,” the notice reads, as per Indian Express,

News18 quoted a statement from the CMO as saying that Atishi’s belongings were forcibly removed at the behest of the BJP.

The statement accused Lieutenant-Governor VK Saxena of wanting to assign the bungalow to a BJP leader.

“For the first time in the history of the country, the Chief Minister’s residence was vacated. At the behest of the BJP, the Lt Governor forcibly removed Chief Minister Atishi’s belongings from the Chief Minister residence,” the CMO said in the statement, as per NDTV.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh claimed the BJP was attempting to ‘usurp’ the bungalow.

He claimed Atishi had set up a camp on the premises that has also been vacated.

“As a CM, Atishi had to occupy the residence. But it has not been allocated to Atishi. She made it a camp office and started meetings, then they ousted the staff. The BJP is now trying to capture the CM residence as they are not winning the elections,” Singh was quoted as saying by News18.

Meanwhile, AAP chief national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar called the developments “cheap politics.”

“He wants to allot the CM’s residence to a BJP leader. It’s been 27 years since the BJP came to power in Delhi. They’ve tried everything to snatch AAP government’s powers, and now they want to capture the CM’s residence,” Kakkar claimed.

L-G’s office dismisses claims, BJP attacks

However, the Lieutenant-Governor’s office dismissed such claims.

“Atishi herself kept her belongings in that house even before it was allotted to her and then removed them herself,” the source said.

“This house has not been allotted to Chief Minister Atishi yet. Her allotted residence is still 17 AB Mathura Road. How can two houses get allotted?” they asked.

As per NDTV, Atishi was given the 17 AB Mathura Road bungalow last year after joining the BJP government.

The “bungalow will be allotted to the Chief Minister immediately after the PWD prepares the inventory,” the sources added.

The BJP claimed the bungalow has been handed over to the PWD.

BJP leader Vijender Gupta, Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, accused Atishi of “illegally” occupying the bungalow.

Gupta shared a purported PWD letter dated October 6 that claimed that Kejriwal “did not vacate his bungalow” and that most of his belongings are still there.

“It is brought to your attention that the keys of the house at 6, Flag Staff Road handed over to PWD were taken back after some time and are yet to be handed over to PWD to complete the process of handing over,” the letter read.

Gupta wondered why they keys were allegedly given straight to Atishi instead of the PWD, as per News18.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, “Arvind Kejriwal’s ‘sheesh mahal’ has finally been sealed. How was he staying in the ‘sheesh mahal’, which didn’t receive completion approval from authorities? He also wanted his CM (Atishi) to stay in that house. What’s hidden inside that house?”

With inputs from agencies