 |
| Giriraj Singh shows around his new house in Patna on Tuesday. Picture by Deepak Kumar |
Patna, Dec. 13: Ten days after being called a “dabangg” by MLC Jyoti, animal and fish resources minister Giriraj Singh vacated the sprawling bungalow on 2 Circular Road last evening.
The minister, accused of capturing the house earmarked for the chairman of Bihar Legislative Council, shifted to an incomplete bungalow at 15 Kautilya Marg with all his belongings, including baggage, birds and animals.
The minister, who reared 150 goats, 10 emus, 10 rabbits and five ducks at his old bungalow, however, had to prune his flock to 25 goats, eight emus, six rabbits and four ducks at his present address.
However, the minister did not express any remorse over the “space crunch” and denied reports about heavy expenditure on the interior decoration of the new house.
“Size does not matter for me. Whatever I have, I am happy with it. Many people have this habit of spending a lot of money on interior decoration, but I have not spent anything. Whatever the building construction department is doing inside and outside the bungalow is not my concern. I have not told them about my personal choice,” said the minister.
According to sources in the building construction department, Rs 27 lakh has so far been spent on the renovation and beautification of the bungalow. The new house has a separate enclosure for the birds and animals whom the minister looks after personally.
About the decision to suddenly shift to the new house, Giriraj told The Telegraph: “When the MLC called me a dabangg, I really felt bad because throughout my political career, I have never been such kind of person. That particular day only I decided that once the bathroom and bedroom are ready, I will shift here.”
“I never had the intention to capture the house which is earmarked for the chairman of the Council. If I had, I would have never initiated the renovation work four to five months in advance. I myself wanted to vacate that bungalow but this house was not in a liveable condition then. Right now there is no place for the security guards and home guards because the renovation work is still on,” the minister said.
