New Delhi, July 7 (IANS) In a fresh political storm, Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Monday accused Delhi Congress President Devender Yadav of spreading lies about the allegedly astronomical cost of renovation at his official residence.

In a letter shot off to Yadav through his secretary, Gupta condemned Yadav’s statements, calling the Speaker’s official residence ‘Shauch Mahal’ involving a renovation expenditure of Rs 2.35 crore and housing an ultra-luxurious toilet or ‘Shauchalay’.

“The Speaker has condemned your statements and denied them totally and stated that such statements to the media, without ascertaining the facts or truth, should be avoided,” wrote Gupta’s secretary, Vineet Kumar.

Kumar’s letter to Yadav said, “You should immediately withdraw your statements and submit an unconditional written apology to him within three days of receipt of this correspondence.”

Gupta also told Yadav that since the latter is a former Member of the Delhi Assembly, he should accord utmost care and respect to the Office of the Speaker and avoid dragging it into a controversy to score political points.

The letter from Kumar pointed to Yadav’s reported statements and said, “News reports attributing the statements to you state that the Speaker is renovating the official residence at an expense of Rs 2.35 crore, out of which Rs 94.69 lakh is for the bathroom and toilets. It is reported that you have named the Speaker’s residence as ‘Shauch Mahal’. You have mentioned the location of the official residence of the Speaker as 9, Shamnath Marg, which is not the official residence of the Speaker.”

Earlier, Yadav issued a statement on Sunday, lashing out at BJP leaders for misusing the taxpayers’ money for their luxurious living while the residents of Delhi are going through a terrible struggle under severe heat due to frequent power cuts and shortage of potable water.

He said that the BJP leaders’ royal living is funded by taxpayers’ money, as he dubbed the official bungalow of Assembly Speaker Vijendra Gupta as the “Shauch Mahal” (Toilet Palace) just as he had previously referred to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s bungalow as ‘Phoolkumari Niwas’.

Citing documents, Yadav stated that expensive tiles, showers, fittings and basins are part of this “royal renovation” of the Speaker’s bungalow, and additionally, Rs 94.93 lakh has been spent exclusively on electrical work and Rs 44.82 lakh on other repairs and beautification.

He said that it was shocking that this expenditure far exceeds the amount spent on the renovation of the Chief Minister’s residence.

–IANS

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