Delhi police stopped AAP leaders from marching towards the official residences of the chief minister and the Prime Minister in a bid by the party to show that Narendra Modi’s home was “far more opulent” than the house Arvind Kejriwal used to inhabit.

The demonstrations by the AAP came against the backdrop of the purported leak of a CAG report showing that the renovation of the chief minister’s bungalow at North Delhi’s Flagstaff Road cost ₹33.66 crore, much higher than the initial estimate of ₹7.91 crore.

On Monday, Delhi’s public works department (PWD) withdrew the allocation of the bungalow to current chief minister Atishi, saying she had not taken possession of it and that investigative agencies needed to examine it in connection with the allegations of graft during the renovation.

The AAP has called the leaks, highlighted by the BJP, “fake documents” and slammed the Centre for “misusing its powers to evict” Atishi. AAP MP Sanjay Singh alleged that ₹2,700 crore had been spent on Modi’s residence on Lok Kalyan Marg and that bungalow must also be shown to the media.

AAP minister Saurabh Bharadwaj told reporters on Wednesday: “The houses of the Prime Minister and the chief minister were renovated during Covid. Both are government properties, not personal. Both the residences were built using taxpayers’ money — hence we think the BJP won’t have any issue with the media’s presence at the PM’s residence. The BJP claimed there is a swimming pool and a bar in the chief minister’s residence. Let us see if that’s the case. It was said that a gold commode was installed in the bathroom; we would like to see that.”

Later in the day, Singh and Bharadwaj marched to Flagstaff Road where they were stopped by the police on the ground that the PWD had prohibited entry. The AAP leaders were not allowed to proceed even though Bharadwaj is the minister in charge of the PWD.

They then proceeded to Lok Kalyan Marg where they were allowed to stage a sit-in at some distance from the Prime Minister’s house. The BJP’s campaign for the Assembly polls next month has pivoted on AAP national convener Kejriwal’s “extravagance” and alleged corruption.

Trinamool support

After the Samajwadi Party, the Trinamool Congress has supported the AAP in the upcoming Delhi polls, where the Congress is contesting alone.

Kejriwal posted on X: “TMC has announced support to AAP in Delhi elections. I am personally grateful to Mamata Didi. Thank you, Didi. U have always supported and blessed us in our good and bad times.”

Reacting to Kejriwal’s post, Trinamool MP Derek O’ Brien wrote: “We have your back @AamAadmiParty.”