'Delhi CM's residence' at 6, Flagstaff Road forcibly vacated, claims CMO; AAP, BJP spar

NEW DELHI: "Delhi chief minister's residence" at 6, Flagstaff Road in Civil Lines was forcibly vacated at the behest of the BJP as Lt Governor V K Saxena wants to allot it to a saffron party leader, the CMO alleged in a statement on Wednesday.

The allegation has set a stage for another round of tussle between the AAP dispensation and the LG office.

Sources at the LG office claimed that the 6, Flagstaff Road bungalow is not the official residence of the chief minister and that it has not been allotted to CM Atishi so far.

Atishi kept her belongings there without allotment and later herself removed them from there, the sources said.

The PWD owns the bungalow and takes possession after it is vacated. The bungalow's allotment is done by it after proper inventory of goods kept there.

The AAP should not be worried and this bungalow after preparation of inventory will be immediately allotted to the chief minister, the sources at the LG office said.

Chief Minister Atishi moved with her belongings to the bungalow in North Delhi's Civil Lines area on Monday. It was occupied for over nine years by her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal who vacated it after resigning as chief minister.

"For the first time in the history of the country, the Chief Minister's residence was vacated. On the instructions of BJP, LG forcibly removed CM Atishi's belongings from the CM residence. LG is preparing to allot the CM residence to a big BJP leader.

"The BJP, which has been out of power in Delhi for 27 years, is now trying to occupy the CM residence," the Office of Chief Minister Atishi alleged in the statement.

A pick-up van carrying cardboard cartons was seen coming out of the bungalow. A hand cart carrying an almirah and a carton was also seen moving out of the bungalow.

Meanwhile, Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, in a post on X, alleged that the LG was "planting" in the media that CM Atishi's belongings were removed because she did not give its keys and it will be allotted to her after an inventory of items was prepared.

In another post, he questioned the LG if the keys of Raj Niwas were handed over by his predecessor to the PWD and if any inventory was prepared when he shifted there.

Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta, in a statement, welcomed "sealing" of the bungalow by the PWD saying that it was inevitable.

He also alleged that the bungalow was "illegally occupied" and demanded a thorough probe into it.

The BJP has been accusing Atishi of "illegally" occupying the bungalow number 6, Flagstaff Road and demanding it be sealed.

The party claimed that the bungalow was not handed over to the Public Works Department (PWD) and its keys were still with Kejriwal.

There is no designated chief minister's residence in Delhi. In the past, different chief ministers in Delhi lived in bungalows in different parts of the city. The Flagstaff Road bungalow was occupied by Kejriwal since he became the chief minister in 2015.

Earlier in the day, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh alleged that the bungalow is yet to be officially allotted to Chief Minister Atishi and accused the BJP of trying to "usurp" the bungalow.

He also claimed that a camp office of the chief minister present on the bungalow premises has been vacated.

Showing documents at a press conference, Singh claimed the bungalow was properly vacated by Kejriwal.

In a reply to the PWD, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) in a letter on Tuesday said that the keys of 6, Flagstaff Road bungalow were handed over to section officer Mukesh Kumar at camp office on October 4.

The same day, the CMO requested the PWD to allot "CM residence" at 6, Flagstaff Road to present chief minister, stated the letter.

A vacation report of the bungalow was submitted by a PWD junior engineer to a section officer of the chief minister's camp office on October 5, it said.

CM Atishi visited the residence at 2 pm on October 6, where several PWD engineers were present. The keys of the bungalow were handed over by a section officer of the camp office to PWD engineer Karan Singh Yadav who then handed it over to Atishi, the letter said.

The keys of the bungalow were presently with the chief minister, it said.

The CMO said that the PWD can check with its engineer concerned whether the bungalow was inspected and any detailed stock of inventories was prepared before issuing the vacation report.