BJP's protest over renovation of CM Kejriwal's residence a dud: AAP

NEW DELHI: The ruling AAP and the BJP on Wednesday sparred over the indefinite hunger strike called by the saffron party in Delhi against alleged excessive spending on the renovation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's official residence here.

While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claimed the protest has turned out to be a dud and even BJP workers did not participate in it, the opposition party hit back saying ministers of the Kejriwal government were trying to mislead people by spreading lies while stressing that the dharna goes on from 10.30 am to 5 pm.

The BJP has been attacking Kejriwal and AAP, alleging that the chief minister spent Rs 45 crore on the renovation of his official residence between 2020 and 2022.

On Monday, it launched an indefinite dharna near Kejriwal's 6, Flagstaff Road, Civil Lines residence, asking him to open his bungalow to the general public so that they can witness his ''lavish living'', even if the entry into it is ''ticketed''.

AAP chief spokesperson and Delhi Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj in a tweet said BJP's dharna had flopped. ''Leave aside the people of Delhi, even BJP workers do not want to join the conspiracy against the Chief Minister. Janta is saying that this Chief Minister's residence is not the private property of @ArvindKejriwal. Whoever becomes CM will remain there. Kejriwal ji works for people,'' he said in a tweet in Hindi.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak said the hunger strike has found no support among the people of Delhi as the BJP was ''indulging in politics of lies''.

''Bharatiya Nautanki Party only knows theatrics. Their indefinite fast has completely failed. Today morning, we clicked pictures at 8.30 am, 9.30 am and 10.30 am, and there was nobody at the protest site,'' the AAP leader claimed.

''Leave aside the people of Delhi, even BJP workers are not participating in the strike because they know that the saffron party is indulging in politics of lies,'' Pathak added.

Responding to the allegations, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said the ruling party leaders are rattled by the exposure of the ''scam'' involving the beautification of the chief minister's official bungalow at an expenditure of Rs 45 crore of public money.

''Aam Aadmi Party's fury has increased so much due to the campaign and dharna being run by the Delhi BJP that now AAP minister Saurabh Bharadwaj is making false claims on Twitter since morning,'' he said.

In a tweet later in the day, he said the dharna continues from 10.30 am to 5 pm every day which is giving ''sleepless nights to AAP leaders'', who are lying saying it is an indefinite strike.

At the AAP's press conference, Pathak said the people of Delhi have rejected the BJP in the Assembly and the MCD elections as they ''love their son Arvind Kejriwal''.

''Today, I called up a BJP worker asking him why he wasn't part of the party's protest. The BJP worker said those participating in the hunger strike are indulging in theatrics,'' he claimed.

Pathak further said the BJP worker he spoke to admitted that the renovation was not done at Kejriwal's personal house but at his official residence which was built in 1942.

The AAP leader also asked the BJP to share a list of people who were sitting on indefinite hunger strike. ''Today is the third day and by this time, a person who is sitting on an indefinite hunger strike starts losing weight and his ketone levels go up and blood pressure fluctuates,'' he said.

''They should issue the medical bulletin of these people by this evening,'' Pathak added.

The AAP MLA said that if they need help, a team of doctors will be sent to carry out a medical checkup and issue a bulletin.

He alleged that if the BJP failed to do so, it will prove that the strike is a ''flop operation'' and ''nothing more than theatrics''.

While the BJP has been trying to corner Kejriwal and the AAP over the renovation issue, the ruling party leaders have alleged that the BJP was trying to divert attention from the more pressing issues facing the country.