The Vigilance Department has instructed the Principal Secretary of the Public Works Department (PWD) to look into the discovery of costly luxury items at former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s official residence at 6, Flag Staff Road, ANI reported.
This action follows a letter from Delhi Assembly Leader of Opposition, Vijender Gupta, to the Lieutenant Governor on November 20, 2024, requesting a high-level investigation into the expensive, luxury items spotted at the former CM’s home. After this, the Lieutenant Governor instructed the Vigilance Department to look into the matter on December 6.
What did the Delhi Assembly Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta say in its letter?
In his letter, Gupta pointed out the discrepancies between the items provided by the PWD for Kejriwal’s residence in 2022, when he became Chief Minister for a second term, and the items found after he left office in 2024.
Gupta alleged that while the PWD provided basic furniture and amenities in 2022, an inventory check conducted after Kejriwal vacated the bungalow in 2024 revealed several luxurious items not supplied by the department. These included high-end toilet seats, expensive wash basins, reclining sofas, costly curtains, premium carpets, and large TVs and refrigerators.
Questioning the source of these luxurius items, Gupta alleged that these were items were funded by people benefiting from Kejriwal’s alleged corruption, including those linked to the liquor mafia, hinting at alleged benefits from his controversial excise policy.
Gupta mentioned previous BJP claims of ₹12-lakh toilet commodes, stating that these were part of a larger corruption scheme involving crores. He called for a thorough investigation into who provided such expensive amenities and what they gained in return.
Meanwhile, the AAP chief was arrested in March 2024 in money laundering and corruption cases linked to the Delhi excise policy. But this didn’t shake Kejriwal. He remained adamant about not leaving the CM post despite several calls from his opponents to do so because he was a “jailed” CM. The Aam Aadmi Party’s national convenor didn’t bow out until the Supreme Court granted him bail. Kejriwal then stepped down from the post on September 17, days after the Supreme Court released him in cases linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy ‘scam’.
