Delhi CM Atishi moves to 6, Flagstaff Road bungalow; BJP-AAP trade charges

New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) Chief Minister Atishi shifted to bungalow number 6 on Flagstaff Road in north Delhi's Civil Lines on Monday, days after her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal vacated it and moved to a new address in Lutyens' Delhi, officials said.

Hours after the chief minister shifted to a new residence, the BJP claimed that the bungalow is yet to be handed over to the public works department for fresh allocation.

The ruling AAP claimed in a statement that the keys of the bungalow were handed over to Atishi by the department on Sunday and alleged that the BJP was "shamelessly misleading" the public over a "non-issue".

Atishi interacted with the staff of her official residence in an introductory meeting in the afternoon on Monday after shifting there.

Earlier, her personal effects and other belongings were shifted in a small goods carrier.

Sharing a purported PWD letter dated October 6, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta alleged that Kejriwal "in reality" did not vacate his bungalow. Most of his belongings are still in the 'Sheesh Mahal', he claimed.

"Kejriwal still retains possession of it, along with the keys," Gupta said in a statement.

The BJP coined the title 'Sheesh Mahal' for the 6, Flagstaff Road bungalow, running a campaign on alleged irregularities in its construction and money spent on costly interiors and household items there.

The purported letter of PWD, written to the special secretary of the Chief Minister's Office stated, "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 AAP said that the General Administration Department issued a no-dues certificate indicating that former chief minister Kejriwal paid all water, electricity and telephone bills associated with the bungalow.

"Not only this, when he vacated the CM's residence, the PWD officially issued a 'Vacation Report' to Kejriwal. The report clearly indicates that a junior engineer of PWD inspected the house, checked the inventory and afterwards, issued a vacation report," it said.

It was only after this that the keys of the CM's residence were handed over by the PWD to current Chief Minister Atishi, AAP said.

Atishi was earlier allotted the AB-17 bungalow on Mathura Road after she was appointed a minister in the Kejriwal government last year.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Kejriwal, who resigned as chief minister in September, vacated the Flagstaff Road bungalow in Civil Lines last Friday.

His new address is 5, Ferozeshah Road near Mandi House, which was allotted to AAP Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab Ashok Mittal.

Atishi used to stay in south Delhi's Kalkaji with her parents while former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was staying in the AB-17 bungalow.

Last week, Sisodia vacated the house and moved to Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh's official residence on RP Road. PTI