'You made Sheesh Mahal, BJP will build houses for poor': Delhi CM Rekha Gupta's jibe at Kejriwal during Budget presentation

Rekha Gupta

Taking a dig at AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta on Monday outlining the differences between the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dispensation in Delhi, said the biggest differentiator between them and us is that they concentrated on making Sheesh Mahal and we will focus on making houses for the downtrodden.

"There is a lot of difference between us... you made promises, we will fulfil them. You abused other states' governments, we will work together. You made the 'sheeshmahal', we will build houses for the poor. You installed (gold) toilets worth lakhs, we will make toilets for the poor..." remarked Gupta ahead of presenting the Budget for Delhi. She went on to say that the highly educated cabinet of Kejriwal framed policies with ill-intention, whereas the current cabinet will frame policies based on their experience and their understanding of the national capital.

Rekha Gupta on Tuesday presented Budget 2025-26 in the state Assembly, saying that it has ten focus areas including infrastructure development, electricity, roads, and water. This year's budget, of Rs 1 lakh crore, has been upped by 31.5 per cent from the previous. Stating the days of "corruption and inefficiency" are over, Gupta announced that the capital expenditure budget has been doubled to Rs 28,000 crore.

While presenting the Budget in the state assembly, CM Gupta termed it as a "historic budget" of the Delhi government. "This is not an ordinary Budget, this Budget is the first step to develop Delhi which was ruined in the past 10 years. Delhi went down in every aspect of development in the past decade. The previous government ruined the economic health of the national capital like termites," said Gupta, who also holds the Finance portfolio.

Arvind Kejriwal could not respond immediately as he was not in the House; the AAP boss lost his seat after a poor showing in the February election. The AAP, which won over 60 seats in 2015 and 2020, managed only 22 this time, and three-time MLA Arvind Kejriwal lost his New Delhi seat.

The 'sheeshmahal' controversy was widely seen as a key reason for the AAP's defeat in last month's election, with the BJP hammering Mr Kejriwal and his party over the alleged corruption. The CM has been leading that charge; on the day she was to be sworn in as Chief Minister, the BJP leader vowed to turn Kejriwal's former residence - 6, Flagstaff Road - into a museum.