Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) president and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appeared before the Privileges Committee of the Delhi Assembly on Friday in connection with the ‘Fancy Ghar’ controversy, and later accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government of trying to ‘insult the martyrs’ by portraying the historic ‘execution chamber’ as a ‘dinette’.
Besides Kejriwal, former Delhi CM Ram Niwas Goel and then Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla appeared before the committee. However, officials said former MP CM Manish Sisodia bypassed the proceedings again.
After the meeting, Kejriwal told reporters that it was efforts by then Speaker Goel in 2022 that brought to light the presence of ‘Fancy Ghar’ at the Assembly headquarters, where the British allegedly executed freedom fighters.
“Delhi is suffering from rising water bills, polluted water, increasing school fees and pollution crisis, but the government is not discussing these issues,” the former chief minister said.
He said that ever since the BJP came to power in Delhi, it has been trying to prove that the room was not a ‘fancy ghar room’ but a ‘dining room’. He said that Joel decided to open Fancy Gar only after conducting a full investigation.
He said: “I asked the committee to tell me what evidence they have that it was a dining room. They have no evidence. This clearly means that they are deliberately trying to insult the freedom fighters by claiming that it was a dining room.”
“I would have been happy if a committee of the BJP government had asked me how to fix drains or roads, so that I could share my experience with them. I just want Delhi to improve. But the BJP doesn’t want to run Delhi. Their aim is not to work, just to do politics,” Kejriwal said.
AAP also claimed that security was breached during Kejriwal’s visit as the Delhi Police did not allow his personal security officer to enter the rally premises.
“This happened despite Kejriwal having Z+ security due to the multiple attacks he faced in the past,” the party said.
Pradyumn Singh Rajput, chairman of the Privileges Committee, wondered how the decision to set up Fancy Ghar was taken “without any basic facts or historical basis”.
“It is deeply disturbing that those who held such high constitutional positions were unable to place a single factual document or piece of evidence before the committee today to support their claims,” he said.
He said the committee would now deliberate on the next course of action based on the transcripts recorded on Friday.
Delhi chief Vijender Gupta said the AAP leaders committed contempt of the house and violated privileges by failing to appear before the committee repeatedly.
He added: “The statements made against the committee and the constitution are reprehensible and completely unacceptable.”
He noted that if the historical authenticity of Fancy Gar remained uncertain, it would be appropriate to address the issue with factual clarity.
