'Abdul Kalam lived in 300-room Rashtrapati Bhavan, but...': Arvind Kejriwal fires back over expenses on his official CM residence
Arvind Kejriwal stressed that the residence was not his personal property but the official house of the Chief Minister.
- Jan 6, 2025,
- Updated Jan 6, 2025 2:13 PM IST
Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has defended the expenses incurred on the renovation of his official residence during his tenure. Speaking to podcaster Raj Shamani, Kejriwal described the figures being circulated—such as Rs 1 crore for curtains and Rs 6 crore for marbles — as "incorrect."
"All of those figures are wrong. These numbers have been thrown into the market," the AAP supremo said.
Kejriwal stressed that the residence was not his personal property but the official house of the Chief Minister. "Dr Abdul Kalam lived in Rashtrapati Bhavan, which has 250 or 300 rooms, but that doesn’t change the fact that he was a simple man," he said.
"Similarly, I stayed in the official CM house when I was Chief Minister. Before that, as an activist, I lived in Delhi's slums. When I was a Joint Commissioner in the Income Tax department, I lived in a flat in Kaushambi. God has given me responsibilities, and I have lived according to them."
Kejriwal said that today, he was no longer the Chief Minister and "it didn't even take me two days to vacate the house after I resigned as CM". "When I returned from jail, I had lived in a challenging cell. If I had been attached to the CM house, I could have rested there for at least 3-4 months. But I vacated it within two days of returning."
The AAP supremo stressed that this was not his personal home and that it was renovated by the PWD. "That was not my residence; it was the official CM residence built by the Delhi Government's PWD department."
When asked whether as chief minister he should have set a precedent by cutting costs and building a smaller house, Kejriwal said: "That's not the case. Most of the figures being quoted are wrong. I can't delve into the details of every single item, but many of the numbers being circulated on social media are not correct. (45 crores for the house, Rs 1 crore for curtains, Rs 6 crores for marble) — most of these figures are false."
Kejriwal has been facing flak for reportedly spending Rs 45 crore for the renovation of the chief minister's official residence.
On Saturday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah slammed the former chief minister for building a "sheesh mahal" - a colloquial Hindi term for an opulent house. He listed a host of expensive items and appliances used at Kejriwal's official residence as the chief minister, saying he had never heard of some of those things. Shah said Kejriwal could not be satisfied by one, two, three or four bungalows, and instead built himself a "sheesh mahal" spread across 50,000 square yards of land, costing the people of Delhi Rs 45 crore.
The home minister alleged that Kejriwal spent over Rs 6 crore on designer marbles, Rs 6 crore on motorised curtains, Rs 70 lakh on automatic doors, Rs 50 lakh on carpets and Rs 64 lakh on smart TVs at the chief minister's residence.
Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has defended the expenses incurred on the renovation of his official residence during his tenure. Speaking to podcaster Raj Shamani, Kejriwal described the figures being circulated—such as Rs 1 crore for curtains and Rs 6 crore for marbles — as "incorrect."
"All of those figures are wrong. These numbers have been thrown into the market," the AAP supremo said.
Kejriwal stressed that the residence was not his personal property but the official house of the Chief Minister. "Dr Abdul Kalam lived in Rashtrapati Bhavan, which has 250 or 300 rooms, but that doesn’t change the fact that he was a simple man," he said.
"Similarly, I stayed in the official CM house when I was Chief Minister. Before that, as an activist, I lived in Delhi's slums. When I was a Joint Commissioner in the Income Tax department, I lived in a flat in Kaushambi. God has given me responsibilities, and I have lived according to them."
Kejriwal said that today, he was no longer the Chief Minister and "it didn't even take me two days to vacate the house after I resigned as CM". "When I returned from jail, I had lived in a challenging cell. If I had been attached to the CM house, I could have rested there for at least 3-4 months. But I vacated it within two days of returning."
The AAP supremo stressed that this was not his personal home and that it was renovated by the PWD. "That was not my residence; it was the official CM residence built by the Delhi Government's PWD department."
When asked whether as chief minister he should have set a precedent by cutting costs and building a smaller house, Kejriwal said: "That's not the case. Most of the figures being quoted are wrong. I can't delve into the details of every single item, but many of the numbers being circulated on social media are not correct. (45 crores for the house, Rs 1 crore for curtains, Rs 6 crores for marble) — most of these figures are false."
Kejriwal has been facing flak for reportedly spending Rs 45 crore for the renovation of the chief minister's official residence.
On Saturday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah slammed the former chief minister for building a "sheesh mahal" - a colloquial Hindi term for an opulent house. He listed a host of expensive items and appliances used at Kejriwal's official residence as the chief minister, saying he had never heard of some of those things. Shah said Kejriwal could not be satisfied by one, two, three or four bungalows, and instead built himself a "sheesh mahal" spread across 50,000 square yards of land, costing the people of Delhi Rs 45 crore.
The home minister alleged that Kejriwal spent over Rs 6 crore on designer marbles, Rs 6 crore on motorised curtains, Rs 70 lakh on automatic doors, Rs 50 lakh on carpets and Rs 64 lakh on smart TVs at the chief minister's residence.