Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has been accused of extravagance for allegedly renovating his official residence for almost Rs 45 crore.

The BJP claimed, citing purported documents from Delhi’s public works department, that the renovation was done during the peak of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

Party spokesman Sambit Patra said on Wednesday: “This is a story of amaharaja who changed from ‘I will take nothing’ to ‘I will takeeverything’.”

Before the 2013 elections, Kejriwal had released a sworn affidavit in which he said he wouldn’t take a bungalow if elected. He moved to the two-storey bungalow allotted to the chief minister after being re-elected in 2015. The renovation added a floor.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh said the house was 80 years old and in dire need of renovation.

“Not one, but three serious incidents (of ceilings collapsing) had happened in that house…. The public worksdepartment (PWD) of the Delhi government suggested that the old house needed to be demolished and a new house built. The new house was rebuilt at a cost of Rs 30 crore,” Singh said.

Delhi’s lieutenant governor had spent Rs 15 crore only on the repair of his house, he added.

Singh said the upcoming residence of the Prime Minister is estimated to be worth almost Rs 500 crore and that Rs 90 crore has been spenton renovating the existing house.