Raghav Chadha targets Kejriwal over ‘Sheesh Mahal 2’ row as BJP, AAP trade charges

Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Saturday (April 25) made his first attack on AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal since announcing his “merger” with the BJP along with six other AAP MPs. He said the BJP’s “Sheesh Mahal” charges against the former Delhi Chief Minister led to AAP’s defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections.

“Sheesh Mahal Part Two has come up in Delhi. Some pictures of it have surfaced. If there was one major reason for the Aam Aadmi Party’s loss in the Delhi elections, this was it,” Chadha said in a media interaction on Saturday.

Also read | AAP calls Raghav Chadha-led MPs’ exit ‘unconstitutional’, seeks their disqualification

The term ‘Sheesh Mahal’ was coined by the BJP to refer to the alleged lavish lifestyle led by Kejriwal.

BJP-AAP spar over ‘Sheesh Mahal 2’ photos

His attack on Kejriwal came hours after the BJP made similar allegations about the AAP leader’s alleged lavish lifestyle. At a press conference on Saturday morning, Delhi minister and BJP leader Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma said: “After he was forced out of Sheesh Mahal by the Dhurandhar voters of Delhi, he shifted to Punjab, where he took a bungalow, and now he has prepared Sheesh Mahal 2 at Lodhi Estate.”

The pictures Raghav Chadha referred to in his fresh attack on Kejriwal were of the Type VII bungalow allotted to him by the Centre in his capacity as AAP chief. The BJP displayed these images during a press conference, alleging that Kejriwal had used “private money” to upgrade and create superior amenities at the bungalow.

However, the AAP has rejected the images as “fake, false, and baseless.” AAP leader Atishi further claimed that the pictures were sourced from Pinterest and used to defame Kejriwal.

“What times these have become for them - when they can't find anything against Kejriwal ji, they're making false claims based on images picked up from the internet. Parvesh Verma ji: You could've used AI for this instead; theft doesn't get caught that quickly,” Atishi wrote on X.

Maliwal's ‘Sheesh Mahal' jibe at Kejriwal

Another Rajya Sabha MP, Swati Maliwal, also hurled the “Sheesh Mahal” jibe at Kejriwal, stating that he built a house worth Rs 100 crore. A day after joining the BJP, she accused Kejriwal of corruption, “gundagardi (hooliganism)” and being “anti-women,” while praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.

Maliwal, who had been associated with Kejriwal since the early days of his anti-corruption movement, said her decision to switch parties was voluntary. “I joined the BJP not under any compulsion, but because I believe in the leadership of PM Modi. I urge all those who want to do constructive politics to join the BJP,” she told ANI, presenting the move as rooted in political alignment rather than circumstance.

Assault allegation and internal rift

Her criticism drew heavily on a 2024 incident in which she alleged she was assaulted by Kejriwal’s aide, Bibhav Kumar, at the Chief Minister’s residence.

Also Read: Why Chadha-led exodus presents an existential crisis for AAP and Kejriwal

“Since 2006, I have been working with Arvind Kejriwal and supported him during every agitation. However, Arvind Kejriwal had me beaten up by a goon in my own house,” she said.

She added that she faced threats after speaking out and was pressured to withdraw the FIR. “I was denied any opportunity by the party to speak in Parliament for two years; this is very shameful. Arvind Kejriwal is anti-women.”

Allegations on governance, party culture

Maliwal also alleged a shift in the party’s functioning after it came to power, claiming Punjab, currently the only state governed by the AAP, was being treated as a “personal ATM,” and that dissenting voices were met with legal action.

Positioning the BJP as a contrast, she cited what she described as decisive governance under Modi. “Kejriwal is known for corruption and ‘gundagardi’. On the other hand, we have PM Modi, who is the most popular leader in the world. PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have taken historic decisions for the development of the nation,” she said.