New Delhi: The search for new government residential accommodation for the newly sworn-in Chief Minister of Delhi, Rekha Gupta, and her council of ministers has begun as she would not stay at 6 Flagstaff Road bungalow, the residence of the former CM Arvind Kejriwal.
The bungalow labelled as "Sheesh Mahal" by the BJP for alleged corruption was occupied by Kejriwal as the chief minister of Delhi from 2015 till the first week of October last year.
As of now, there is no permanent official government residence for the current Delhi CM. After taking oath as Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta has been holding meetings with different departments in the Delhi Secretariat for the last two days.
Currently, she is staying in her private residence in Shalimar Bagh. As she is not going to stay in the 6 Flagstaff Road bungalow, a search has begun to find an alternative residence. The government residence for CM Rekha Gupta has not been decided yet.
Even before the Delhi Assembly elections, the ruling BJP's state president Virendra Sachdeva had said that if their party formed the government, then its CM would not live in the 'Sheesh Mahal'. Gupta has also made it clear now that she will not live in the controversial property.
Earlier this month, the Central Vigilance Commission directed the Public Works Department of the Delhi government to conduct a detailed probe into the alleged merger of properties to expand the 6, Flagstaff Road bungalow and the expenditures incurred on its interiors.
In such a situation, the Public Works Department officials have given some options to Chief Minister Gupta regarding her government accommodation. These include the government bungalow located in Civil Lines, the one located on Daryaganj Road and another bungalow located on Mathura Road. However, CM Gupta will have to make the final decision on which of these government buildings she wants to reside in.
In Delhi, unlike other states, there is no permanent government residence designated for the Chief Minister and Ministers to live in. In such a situation, whenever there is a change of power, the allocation of government accommodation becomes a big issue. All the ministers in the Aam Aadmi Party government were living in the government bungalow of the Public Works Department located at Raj Niwas Road, as it is closer to the Delhi Assembly.
Till now, most of the Delhi ministers have been living in the bungalow located at Civil Lines. Now, after 27 years, the BJP has returned to power in the national capital. This is why the Chief Minister and the ministers are taking time to select their new places of residence.
When Kejriwal became the CM for the first time in 2013, he was living in the government residence located at Tilak Marg. In 2015, when the government was formed with a full majority, he shifted to the government bungalow located at Flag Staff Road in Civil Lines and during the tenure of this government, he got the beautification work done in that bungalow, which triggered a controversy. Before Kejriwal, Congress leader Sheila Dixit, who was the Chief Minister of Delhi for three consecutive times, used to live in the government residence located at Motilal Nehru Marg.
During the day, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta met PM Modi for the first time after taking oath as Chief Minister. She presented a bouquet to the PM and briefed the PM on the development works on which she held meetings with different departments during the last two days. Earlier, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also met President Draupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and his wife Sudesh Dhankhar on Friday.
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