The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday lashed out at Arvind Kejriwal, calling the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor an “Advertisement Baba”.
Addressing a press conference, BJP MP Sambit Patra said,”Arvind Kejriwal should be called ‘Advertisement Baba’ from today onwards…The government of Delhi spent a total of ₹54 crore for the scheme ‘Business Blasters’. However, the advertisement of the scheme cost ₹80 crore.
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“The CAG mentioned that the expenditure for the advertisement of the scheme was 1.5 times the expenditure of the scheme…In another scheme, ₹1.9 crore were invested. However, the expenditure of the advertisement was ₹27.9 crore,” ANI quoted Patra as saying.
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BJP slams Kejriwal on CM residence renovation
The BJP MP again targeted Kejriwal over renovation at the CM’s residence.
“.As per the CAG report, on 17th March 2020, the PWD of Delhi gave a proposal that Arvind Kejriwal’s residence had to be remodelled. PWD proposed to demolish the building and add one storey. Surprisingly, in just one day, the proposal of the PWD was accepted,” Patra said.
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A report by Comptroller and Auditor General Girish Chandra Murmu, revealed that the total cost of renovating the Delhi Chief Minister’s residence, referred to as the ‘Sheesh Mahal,’ was ₹33.66 crore.
The remodelling was estimated at ₹7.61 crore. But the tender came out for ₹8.62 crore which means the tender cost was higher by 13.21%…This work was completed in 2022 at a cost of ₹33.66 crore. That is, the cost was 342.31% more than the estimated amount. Such a big scam was committed for Arvind Kejriwal’s ‘Sheeshmahal’…The CAG raised questions on the tendering process,” Patra added.
The ‘Sheesh Mahal’ controversy centres around allegations that Arvind Kejriwal spent crores of rupees renovating his official residence during the Covid-19 pandemic, a period when many public development projects were stalled.