Swati Maliwal renews Sheesh Mahal 2.0 attack, calls Kejriwal Punjab's super CM

Amid the heated political row over a government bungalow in Chandigarh allegedly allotted to former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, rebel AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal launched a fierce attack on Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Maliwal accused Kejriwal of functioning as Punjab’s 'Super Chief Minister' and claimed that Mann had effectively admitted that the 'Sheeshmahal', had been given to Kejriwal.

Raising sharp questions about the alleged use and refurbishment of the government property, Maliwal demanded full disclosure from the Punjab administration regarding its current status, expenditure, and occupants.

Her remarks came after Bhagwant Mann dismissed the allegations as “propaganda,” claiming that the real “Sheesh Mahals” belonged to BJP leader Captain Amarinder Singh and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal.

“This proves my point,” Maliwal said in a social media post. “Bhagwant Mann ji, you’ve already acknowledged Arvind Kejriwal ji as Punjab’s Super CM, that’s why you’re reading the script he wrote. In your own statement, you admitted that Kejriwal lives in this house. That’s exactly what I’ve been saying.”

In a detailed post, Maliwal posed three pointed questions to the Punjab Chief Minister:

“Under whose orders was the CM Camp Office converted into a guest house? What is the procedure for booking it? Who has stayed there as guests over the past three years, and on what basis are people being allowed to stay free of cost in a government facility?” she asked.

The rebel MP further questioned how many times the Chief Minister had personally visited the house in the past three years and sought details of the expenditure incurred in transforming the government property into a ‘Sheesh Mahal’. “On what grounds has a government residence been allotted for his personal stay?” Maliwal added.

A massive political row erupted after the BJP raised the allegation of "Sheeshmahal 2.0" worth crores, and the AAP rubbished the charge as propaganda. The AAP challenged the BJP to produce an allotment letter in support of its allegation.

The BJP claimed that AAP convener Kejriwal, after "losing" his "sheesh mahal" in Delhi, was provided a "luxurious, 7-star" government mansion spread over 2 acres in Chandigarh by his party's government in Punjab.

When Kejriwal was the chief minister of Delhi, he had come under fire from the BJP for his 6, Flagstaff Road bungalow in the national capital over its alleged extravagance, as well as corruption and irregularities in its construction. It was a major campaign issue for the BJP, which later won the polls to form the Delhi government for the first time in over two decades.

"After sheeshmahal in Delhi, Kejriwal has prepared a sheeshmahal 2.0 in Chandigarh. It's learnt to be worth crores. I do not know under which quota Punjab government has provided this magnificent bungalow to him," Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, adding that Kejriwal was neither an MP nor MLA from Punjab.

Fiercely targeting AAP leaders over the bungalow controversy, Swati Maliwal has joined the growing chorus against Arvind Kejriwal’s party. The AAP Rajya Sabha MP turned against the leadership after she was allegedly assaulted in May 2024 by then Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide, Bibhav Kumar, at the Chief Minister’s residence.

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