In his letter, Chandrashekhar, who is lodged in Mandoli jail, claimed that he had personally paid for the lavish furnishings and alleged that they were selected by Kejriwal himself, alongside jailed AAP leader Satyendar Jain.
Chandrashekhar, in his letter sent to L-G through his advocate Anant Malik, also claimed some of the furniture pieces were imported from Italy, adding an international touch to the Chief Minister’s living space.
“This is to bring to the urgent notice that as the recent ongoing investigation in regard to the residence of Mr. Arvind Kejriwal and the expenses used from the public funds to luxurify the official residence, I would want to make full disclosures. During the said renovation and post, there were high-end furniture and bedding which were paid by me for the very same residence of Mr. Arvind Kejriwal which is currently under scrutiny,” he writes in his letter.
“The furniture was personally selected by Kejriwal and Satyender Jain based on pictures which were sent by me on whatsapp and facetime chats of Kejriwal’s mobile and Jain’s phone,” the letter read.
According to Chandrashekhar’s letter, he had purchased several items, including a Visionaire 12-seater dining table made of onyx stone in an olive green colour worth Rs 45 lakh, a Visionaire dressing table for his bedroom and the children’s bedroom worth Rs 34 lakh, seven Visionaire mirrors worth Rs 18 Lakh, D. Rugs, bedspreads, and pillows totaling 30 pieces from Ralph Lauren worth approximately Rs 28 lakh, and Panerai wall clocks worth Rs 45 lakh.
“These furniture mentioned were purchased by me on billing from Mumbai and Delhi, as all the above furniture were imported from Italy and France. The payments were made by me from my firm’s News Express Post and LS Fisheries and the statement of records will be tendered to the investigation agency along with the whatsapp chats between me, Kejriwal and Satyender Jain, confirming it,” the letter read.
Chandrashekhar even claimed that all the furniture were directly delivered to the official residence of Kejriwal and installed in the residence by his staff member Rishabh Shetty.
“Apart from these furniture mentioned he wanted silver crockery, which was given by a famous South Indian Jeweller worth Rs 90 Lakhs in exchange of an allotment, kickback in Karol Bagh Project of the Jeweller introduced by me. There were 15 thali plates and 20 silver glass, few idols and multiple bowls, spoons all in pure silver, delivered to the official residence,” the letter further read.
“Once investigated all the above will be fully confirmed and proven. I humbly undertake to submit all the bills during investigation,” it added.
The Delhi government’s alleged expenditure of Rs 45 crore on the renovation of Arvind Kejriwal’s residence during the Covid pandemic has drawn sharp criticism from the BJP. In response to these reports, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi has instructed the chief secretary, Naresh Kumar, to secure all relevant records, conduct a thorough examination, and submit a detailed report within 15 days for the LG’s review.
However, AAP MP Raghav Chadha offered a rebuttal, highlighting the amounts spent on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence and plane. Chadha emphasized the need for a comprehensive perspective in the ongoing debate.