Two days after she moved into the Civil Lines bungalow earlier occupied by her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi was asked to vacate the premises by officials of the Public Works Department – the department she heads.
The episode marks a sharp escalation in the row around the CM’s residence – while the Aam Aadmi Party claims Atishi moved in after taking care of formalities. It is also the latest in a series of confrontations between the elected government and the bureaucracy.
The AAP alleged that Chief Minister Atishi was forcefully evicted from her official residence at 6, Flagstaff Road in Civil Lines. The chief minister’s office also put out a statement, saying Lt Governor Vinai Saxena gave the direction to remove Atishi’s belongings at the behest of the BJP.
“For the first time in the history of the country, the Chief Minister’s residence was vacated. At the behest of the BJP, the Lt Governor forcibly removed Chief Minister Atishi’s belongings from the Chief Minister residence,” the CMO said. It further alleged that there was a plan to allot the bungalow to some important BJP leader.
Calling the move unprecedented, the CM’s Office said, “For the first time in the history of the country, the Chief Minister has been asked to vacate her house. The L-G has forcibly removed CM Atishi’s belongings at the behest of the BJP. Preparations are underway on behalf of the L-G to allot the CM’s residence to a big BJP leader. The BJP, which has been in exile in Delhi for 27 years, now wants to capture the CM’s residence.”
Hours after Delhi CMO alleged that the ‘Delhi chief minister’s residence’ the sources from the Lieutenant Governor House clarified that the official residence of Delhi CM will soon be allocated to Atishi after conducting a proper inventory. As per the LG House sources, the owner of this residence, similar to all other Chief Ministers’ houses, is the PWD.
The PWD takes possession of the house once it becomes vacant, prepares an inventory of its contents, and then formally allocates it. “Former CM Arvind Kejriwal pretended to vacate the house but did not give possession of the house to PWD. What was he hiding?” the sources said.
It is pertinent to mention that the PWD said that after Kejriwal vacated the residence, the keys were supposed to be given to it instead they were directly given to CM Atishi.
