Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said on Thursday that the affidavit filed by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal has taken the people of the city by surprise as they could not believe that a retired officer, who served as a chief minister and MLA, could have an income of a mere Rs 2.5 lakh.
He pointed out that the affidavit also raises another question, how the AAP chief’s income could spike to Rs 44,90,040 in just one year, from 2020 to 21. The amount, he said, is almost 40 times more than the Rs 1,57,823 he had shown as his income from 2019 to 20.
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He said everyone in the city wants a clarification from the AAP chief on the manifold rise of his income.
Addressing a press conference here, the Delhi BJP chief said people came to know about Kejriwal’s assets through a news report on his nomination and this is a matter of curiosity not only for him, but also for the people of Delhi.
He said he wants to ask a simple question to Kejriwal, who has always claimed that his salary as MLA is his only source of income, why he has not mentioned any other source of income except his salary but in 2020-21 his income suddenly increases by forty times compared to previous years.
During the press conference, Delhi BJP media head Praveen Shankar Kapoor clarified that the party has no intention to make any accusations on anyone but only seek clarifications from a person on a question that has come up in the minds of people.
Sachdeva asked from where did the money suddenly appear as the period from 2020 to 21 was a time when everyone was home-bound due to COVID-19 pandemic while the AAP chief and his ministerial colleagues worked on the liquor policy.
He said for the 2013-14 fiscal year, the AAP chief could have received only two months of salary and allowances as the CM followed by regular MLA salary and allowances from March 2014 to November 4, 2014. On being re-elected in February 2015, Kejriwal began receiving the CM salary and allowances until September 17, 2024, when he resigned. Subsequently, he would have been drawing his MLA salary until now.
According to the BJP leader, given these facts, Kejriwal’s declared income from 2013-14 to 2024-25 in his affidavit dated January 15, 2025, somehow do not align.
