Amid the ongoing row over ‘Sheesh Mahal’, AAP leaders had a faceoff with the Delhi Police on Wednesday outside the Delhi CM’s residence with the BJP dubbing it as a “clear display of anarchy”.

The AAP leaders, including Delhi Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Member of Parliament Sanjay Singh, marched to the CM’s residence to refute the claims of ‘Sheesh Mahal’. After being denied entry into the CM’s residence, they sat on a ‘dharna’ outside. When the police personnel deployed outside the bungalow asked them to vacate the spot, they had a heated exchange with them.

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Labelling the CM’s bungalow as ‘Sheesh Mahal’, the BJP had claimed that the Delhi chief minister’s official residence had swimming pools and a golden commode. The saffron party had alleged that huge expenses were incurred in refurbishing the bungalow when Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal was holding the chief minister’s post.

Bharadwaj accused the BJP of “running away” from the claims of extravagant amenities at the bungalow, saying the public should see the residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well. “We should also search for these things in the prime minister’s residence. The BJP says the CM’s residence was built for Rs 33 crore. It is also being said that the PM’s house is being built for Rs 2,700 crore. We will see both, the CM’s residence and the PM’s house. Let the public see both,” Bharadwaj told reporters.

Hitting out at the AAP, BJP national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Sudhanshu Trivedi said with the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the elections in Delhi, the truth of corruption is gradually coming out before the public. At the same time, it is becoming clear how political decorum can be shattered and how political ethics can be compromised to shield one’s corruption, the BJP national spokesperson said.

“The reality of the monument of corruption is coming before the people.The sequence of events unfolding today and the characteristics being showcased by AAP MP Sanjay Singh and Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, no matter what they do, they will not be able to save Arvind Kejriwal’s museum of corruption, the ‘Sheesh Mahal’. Whatever they have done today, is a clear display of anarchy,” Dr. Trivedi said.

The BJP leader further said, “Today, whatever the AAP has done is a glaring example of their irresponsible, insane, and anarchic behaviour.”

Dr. Trivedi, while addressing a press conference at the party’s headquarters here, said, “The events and the crude display by Aam Aadmi Party leaders, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, today cannot conceal the truth. No matter how much they try, they cannot protect the Sheesh Mahal, which stands as a symbol of Arvind Kejriwal’s luxury and a museum of his indulgence.”

“The undeniable truth is that the people of Delhi were shamelessly looted and this Sheesh Mahal was transformed into a repository of various luxury items. They cannot escape this reality. What they have done to avoid this is a blatant display of political arrogance, unruliness, and chaos, which is in line with the natural characteristics of the Aam Aadmi Party. Creating chaos is the natural
characteristic of the Aam Aadmi Party, and for this reason, the Prime Minister referred to them as a ‘AAP-da’,” the BJP national spokesperson said.

Earlier, Bharadwaj said the BJP wanted people to see the CM’s residence as they were sending new photos and videos every day. “The BJP is running away now that media persons are here,” he added.

“BJP used to send new videos and photos every day. Today, we came here with all the media persons. Now, the BJP is running away. A three-layer barricading has been put up. They have also put up water cannons and deployed Additional DCP here. This has been turned into a border so that the media can’t go in. Show us where are the swimming pool, bar, and golden toilets,” Bharadwaj said.

The minister further said that the public should also see the prime minister’s residence since the BJP wants people to vote on the basis of residence. The BJP was “trembling” since they agreed to show Delhi CM’s residence.

Later, Bharadwaj, along with other AAP leaders, headed to the prime minister’s residence, but were stopped on the way.

After being denied entry, he said, “We came here to conclude this argument of ‘tera ghar, mera ghar’. We said that the PM residence and CM’s residence should both be shown to the people. So, we came here.”

AAP MP Sanjay Singh also accused the BJP of making baseless allegations about luxury at the chief minister’s residence, including a “golden toilet,” swimming pool, and mini bar. Singh, speaking to the media, said that despite these claims being repeatedly made by the BJP, the party failed to substantiate them. “The allegation that the BJP keeps making against us – they should have shown us where is the ‘golden toilet’, where is the swimming pool, where is a mini bar,” he said.

Singh further claimed that the AAP delegation, which had arrived to inspect the property, was prevented from entering the premises. “But they didn’t allow us to see and stopped us outside ‘Raj Mahal’. Now, we are heading back,” he added, referring to the Prime Minister’s official residence as “Raj Mahal.”