Akhilesh, staff damaged residence before vacating it: Officials

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's palatial government bungalow was vandalised and many structures were razed to the ground before it was vacated on the direction of the Supreme Court, officials of the estate department said on Saturday.

With the keys of the sprawling house handed over to them on Friday, a team of 'Rajya Sampatti Vibhaag' went to the 4, Vikramditya Marg residence on Saturday only to see how badly the 45-year-old Samajwadi Party (SP) chief had left his house, apparently in anger of having to leave a house built under his watch at an exorbitant cost of Rs 42 crore. Officials photographed the house.

Officials told IANS that barring a marble temple in one corner, the entire house had been damaged. Expensive floor and wall tiles, laminations, marble slabs have been damaged beyond repair and electricity switch boards and switches ripped off.

All the air-conditioning ducts in the centrally air-conditioned house, which was rebuilt and renovated by the then SP government at the fag end of its tenure, have been plucked out.

The all-weather swimming pool has also been filled with sand. This pool had imported tiling which has all been broken, an official told IANS.

Iron angles can be seen protruding at various places and many gates inside the house have also been damaged.

Tiles of the badminton court, nets, walls have been ripped off and all the ACs, TV, furniture, fans have also been shifted out, the official said, pointing out that they will now check the inventory of the stuff sanctioned in the name of Yadav and will cross check it with what is left behind.

As soon as pictures of the damaged house came out in public domain, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and SP leaders engaged in a verbal spat.

Rakesh Tripathi, spokesman of the ruling BJP, said the "mindset and the culture" of Yadav had been exposed now. "The entry of the estate department officials has exposed the opulence of the Yadavs and also how they wasted public money."

Sunil Singh Yadav 'Sajan', SP spokesman and a close Yadav aide, claimed there was a conspiracy in leaking pictures of the former Chief Minister's residence but did not have an answer to why the posh property was damaged.

Meanwhile, Akhilesh Yadav, talking to reporters in Vrindavan, where he was on a day-long visit with his family, warned officials, saying governments come and go and advised them "not to do things like this".

"I have seen officials pick up cup and plates, they should not get into such behaviour," he said.

--IANS

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