Arvind Kejriwal"s "Rs 91,000 Electricity Bill" Denied by His Government

New Delhi:  After reports that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had run up an electricity bill of about Rs 91,000 in April and May, his government has come out with an emphatic denial.

The Chief Minister’s monthly electricity bill is around Rs 15,000, “nowhere close to the figure being reported in the media,” the Delhi government said in a press statement on Tuesday.

In response to an RTI or Right to Information application, the Delhi Government had furnished copies of Mr Kejriwal’s electricity bills running into Rs. 91,000. The RTI query was filed by Vivek Garg, an advocate and RTI activist.

On Tuesday, the government issued a clarification saying the house at Civil Lines in North Delhi was divided into two units using separate power connections, and the chief minister’s private residence was only one of these units. Since he started living there in February, Mr Kejriwal spent Rs 17,000 in March, Rs 7,370 in April and Rs 22,690 in May, said the statement.

The government said a part of the house was kept for official work and meetings with the public. “In March, this part of the Chief Minister’s residence ran up a bill of Rs 15,175. In April, it shot up to Rs 48, 630 and in May, it is “yet to be paid,” says the government statement.

The BJP in Delhi has mocked Mr Kejriwal for running up a huge power bill despite claims of simplicity, and claimed that his bill is over Rs. 1 lakh.