Atishi Allotted Controversial Bungalow Amid Political Tensions | Delhi News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Public Works Department on Friday offered the allotment of the bungalow at 6 Flagstaff Road in Civil Lines to chief minister Atishi. This residence was at the centre of a controversy recently over the alleged flouting of norms in handing it over to Atishi.
Earlier, on Oct 9, PWD got the house keys from chief minister’s office and sent a team of engineers to carry out a detailed inventory work.Atishi had to remove her belongings from the residence as chief minister’s office claimed she moved inside the house after Kejriwal vacated it.
After Atishi formally accepts the offer, an authority slip will be issued, say officials. “In case of failure to take possession of the allotted bungalow within the time specified, the allotment will be treated as cancelled,” the offer letter stated.
PWD further stated that since this bungalow was under investigation by CBI and other agencies for “various violations”, the allottee was “advised” to extend full cooperation in the investigation, as might be required. “Where the allottee is already in occupation of any govt house/bungalow earlier allotted, the allottee will have to vacate the house/bungalow within 15 days after taking possession of the new house/bungalow allotted in lieu of the previous one,” it added.
Earlier, CM’s office alleged that BJP wanted to capture the residence and hand it over to a BJP functionary. “For the first time in the history of the country, the CM’s residence was evacuated at the behest of BJP. LG forcibly removed Atishi’s belongings from the residence…BJP, which has been in exile in Delhi for 27 years, now wants to capture CM’s residence,” it stated.
PWD officials, however, claimed that officials from chief minister’s office took away the belongings of Atishi voluntarily before handing over the keys to them.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said that “if former CM Arvind Kejriwal and present chief minister Atishi allowed the legal process of surrender and allotment of the bungalow to be completed, perhaps there would have been no dispute”.
The leader of the opposition, Vijender Gupta, said that “the attempts to bypass established protocols stem from the former CM Arvind Kejriwal and AAP govt’s fear of scrutiny and accountability. AAP govt’s attempt to subvert due process by having Kejriwal directly hand over the keys to Atishi was deeply concerning”.
AAP hit back and alleged, “Once again, BJP has resorted to false claims in a desperate attempt to malign AAP and divert attention from their lack of constructive politics. All due procedures were followed during the handover of the CM residence. The keys were formally transferred by the former chief minister to PWD officials, who then rightfully handed them to the current chief minister.”