Kejriwal bungalow row: Why has CBI initiated a preliminary inquiry?

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has initiated a preliminary inquiry into allegations of irregularities regarding the construction of a bungalow for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the national capital. Officials said the CBI has registered a preliminary inquiry against unidentified public servants of the Delhi government. The preliminary inquiry is the first step to ascertain if there is enough evidence prima facie to file a regular FIR. The ruling AAP, rejecting any allegations of wrongdoing by Kejriwal, accused the BJP of trying to ‘finish off’ the party. But what do we know about this row? And what happens next? Let’s take a closer look: What happened? As per Hindustan Times, Kejriwal has been staying at the official residence at 6 Flagstaff Road since becoming chief minister in 2015. Officials said the CBI’s anti-corruption branch has demanded the Public Works Department release records related to the building. These include the approval and recommendation of its officials relating to alteration, tender documents, bids submitted by contractors, approval of plans and any requests for “superior work” including modular kitchen, marble flooring and other ornamental work.

As per News18, the agency has asked the PWD to produce papers showing how the project was sanctioned.

The CBI had given the PWD until 10 am on 26 September to produce the papers. The BJP has claimed it has documents showing Kejriwal’s bungalow has marble from Vietnam as well as pre-fabricated wooden walls and curtains costing lakhs of Rupees. A single curtain alone cost Rs 8 lakh, the BJP claimed, as per NDTV. The BJP in April claimed that around Rs 45 crore was spent on the “beautification” of Kejriwal’s official residence in the Civil Lines area of the city and demanded his resignation on “moral” grounds. Documents provided by sources showed that a total of ₹ 44.78 crore against a sanctioned amount of ₹ 43.70 crore was spent on “addition/alternation” of Kejriwal’s government accommodation on 6, Flagstaff Road in Civil Lines. The money was spent in six tranches between September 9, 2020, to June, 2022, the documents showed. According to the documents, the total expenditure included Rs11.30 crore on interior decoration, Rs 6.02 crore on stone and marble flooring, Rs one crore on interior consultancy, Rs 2.58 crore on electrical fittings and appliances, Rs 2.85 crore on fire fighting system, Rs 1.41 crore on wardrobe and accessories fitting, and Rs 1.1 crore on kitchen appliances. A separate amount of Rs 8.11 crore of the sanctioned amount of Rs 9.99 crore was spent on the camp office of the chief minister at his official residence, it showed. “It was not renovation and a new structure has come up in the place of the old structure. His camp office is also there. The expenditure is around Rs 44 crore but what is to be noted that the old structures have been replaced with new ones,” a senior PWD official said in April. BJP claims victory Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, speaking to PTI, said, “From the first day we have maintained that the way this bungalow was constructed by violating all rules and regulations, massive corruption has taken place.” “After this CBI investigation, Arvind Kejriwal would have to answer who gave the order for all these constructions (at CM’s residence),” he added.

Sachdeva in June claimed Kejriwal was not eligible for a bungalow.

Sachdeva said the national capital Delhi being a Union Territory, its chief minister is eligible only for Type VII accommodation. However, Kejriwal’s bungalow is much bigger than what he is eligible for, according to the guidelines of the ministry of housing and urban affairs, Sachdeva alleged. Citing a show cause notice issued by the Directorate of Vigilance to the Public Works Department engineers, he said, “We want to know who asked the PWD to carry out renovations and expansion of the CM bungalow without any proper tender and budgetary provisions.” “The PWD had initially issued a proposal only for the renovation and beautification of the bungalow, but they constructed an entirely new bungalow,” he alleged. Sachdeva claimed the PWD increased the cost of renovation work at Kejriwal’s official residence from Rs  7.62 crore to Rs  33.20 crore “without any sanction”. The notice said PWD officials recorded on files of the department that changes made in the drawings of the interiors as per the requirement of the chief minister resulted in deviation in total work done and sanctioned amount. The PWD demolished the old structure without a survey report and constructed the new building without getting a new building plan sanctioned, it said. Sachdeva said in a statement that Rs 45 crore was spent on the “beautification” of Kejriwal’s bungalow at a time when Delhi was battling COVID-19. “Kejriwal should answer the people of Delhi about his moral authority with which he spent around Rs 45 crore on the beautification of his bungalow when most of the public development works were stalled during the Covid phase,” Sachdeva said. It has been established that Kejriwal does not live in a house but a “Sheesh Mahal” (in opulence), said the Delhi BJP president and asked the chief Minister to resign on “moral” grounds. He said the 16-month period from September, 2020 to December, 2021 was the peak Covid phase when industrial activities were halted and Delhi government revenue had come down by to less than half, and it had stopped development projects citing a lack of funds, he said. “In that critical phase Kejriwal’s splashing about Rs 45 crore on his house is a big proof of his insensitivity,” Mr Sachdeva alleged. Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri alleged that the “simplicity and honesty” of Mr Kejriwal has been “exposed” and he should immediately resign. AAP cries foul The AAP on Wednesday claimed that the BJP was attempting to stop the party from working for the people. “This is the reason why the country’s best health and education ministers Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia were put behind bars,” the AAP alleged.

 “The BJP is using all its power to finish the AAP,” the party alleged.

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There is “only one party which is AAP that seeks votes on the basis of doing good work in the fields of health and education but, the BJP does not want the poor people should have good education and excellent health facilities,” it added. “Until now, more than 50 cases have been filed against Kejriwal and investigated. Nothing was found then and nothing will be found now. BJP may conduct as many investigations, Kejriwal will always fight for the betterment of the common persons,” the party said. Senior AAP leader Raghav Chadha in June had hit back saying the chief minister’s residence was constructed 75-80 years ago in 1942. The Delhi government’s Public Works department (PWD), after an audit, had recommended its renovation, he claimed. Chadha, a Rajya Sabha MP of the AAP, added, “It is a government accommodation, it is not Arvind Kejriwal’s property. “Unless you compare the expenditure on the Delhi CM’s residence with that of the PM’s residence and those of chief ministers in other states, how would you find whether it’s less or more?” Chadha asked. He also cited expenditures on the prime minister and chief ministers in BJP-governed states to defend the amount incurred on Mr Kejriwal’s official residence in Delhi. With inputs from agencies