Instead of creating infra, Kejri built ‘sheesh mahal’, says Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday slammed Arvind Kejriwal for building a ‘sheesh mahal’ for himself instead of creating infrastructure in the national capital during his nearly 10-year term as the Delhi Chief Minister, saying the AAP convener will have to give an account for it.
“When Kejriwal entered politics, he vowed not to take a government car or bungalow and promised to herald a new kind of politics. But he 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 people of Delhi Rs 45 crore,” Shah said after inaugurating a working women’s hostel, Sushma Bhavan, of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation.
The Home Minister said the people of the Capital were demanding accountability for this expenditure. He remarked that despite having the opportunity to focus on the development of Delhi’s infrastructure over 10 years, the focus was shifted to constructing a ‘sheesh mahal’ instead of prioritising development.
The BJP has been using the term ‘sheesh mahal’, a colloquial Hindi term for an opulent house, to target Kejriwal.
Taking a swipe, Shah said he had suggested to Kejriwal on X that he should allow people of Delhi to take a tour of the ‘sheesh mahal’ so that they could see what kind of home their Chief Minister lived in.
“Some young persons had come to see me and when I told them that Kejriwal did nothing for Delhi, they retorted that I was being unjust as he had built a ‘sheesh mahal’,” the senior BJP leader said in sarcasm.
The Union Minister further accused Kejriwal of overseeing a series of corruption scandals, including Delhi’s liquor policy, mohalla clinics, CCTV installations and bus purchases.
Reacting to the Shah’s remarks, AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said Shah should focus on one responsibility given to the BJP by the people of Delhi — ensuring law and order. “Shah must start working on this immediately,” she said.
