 "A house for Mr. Kejriwal, finally")
Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has finally got a residence in the posh lanes of Civil Lines in north Delhi. The Aam Admi part leader had been on a house hunt for over a month.
The four-bedroom house belongs to art gallery owner Naren Jain, son of former Congress leader Bhiku Ram Jain. Jain is also a member of AAP and maintains that the allocation of the flat is a mere coincidence.
"A property dealer had inquired about my flat which had been vacant for several years. I told him that the house is in poor condition and needs renovation. When the dealer told me that he is on the lookout on behalf of Kejriwal, I agreed to it," Jain told Business Standard.
The property is a single-storey, 800-square-yard structure with four bedrooms, a barsati and a basement. Although "no practical agreement" has been signed between both the parties, the flat owner says he has agreed to Kejriwal's demand of renovating the flat. "The cost involved in repairing it will then be deducted from the rent," said Jain.
Party sources, however, said that the house has been allotted to the party supremo at a token value and no middleman was involved in the process of house-hunting. Kejriwal is currently residing in a three-bedroom flat at C-II/23 Tilak Lane which was allotted to him after he became Delhi CM. The house is a Type-VI flat, which is usually meant for the use of joint secretaries and officials of equivalent rank has to be vacated by July-end.
He had earlier rejected a spacious five-bedroom duplex guest house of Indraprastha Power Generation on Bhagwan Dass Road, which itself had been selected after his "Aam Aadmi" credentials prevented him from occupying a sprawling 8,000 sq ft bungalow with five bedrooms, huge back and ample parking space entitled to him.
A chief minister has to vacate his or her flat within a month after stepping down from the post, however, Kejriwal had asked for an extension to his stay and wanted to vacate as soon as his daughter's entrance exams got over. At present, there is no provision of a bungalow for former chief minister in Delhi. Since March, Kejriwal has been shelling out a market rent of Rs 80,000 per month for the house, all paid by his friends from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), according to the party.