Saamana picks up on PM’s lifestyle, backs Kejriwal ahead of Delhi elections 

Saamana supports Kejriwal against Modi's criticism, highlighting extravagant spending and hypocrisy of the Prime Minister.

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scathing attack on Aam Aadmi Party’s national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, the Shiv Sena(UBT) mouthpiece, Saamana, has come out in support of the former New Delhi Chief Minister and criticised the PM. 

On Monday (January 6, 2025), Saamana‘s editorial lashed out at PM’s speech and came in support of Mr. Kejriwal and said it is the PM who has built a palace for himself.

“Mr. Kejriwal spending ₹1.5 crore on his government bungalow may be a matter of criticism but what about the houses of other Central Ministers who have gone royal in decorating their government bungalows? In Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde as a CM had three government bungalows; even after stepping down from the post, he continues to hold possession of two bungalows. When Devendra Fadnavis was Deputy CM, he too had two bungalows. This extravagance is larger than the sheesh mahal allegation against Mr. Kejriwal who is also accused of making gold chest drawers,” the Saamana editorial read. 

Ahead of the Delhi Assembly Elections, Mr. Modi in a rally on Sunday called the party “AAP-DA” or a “disaster” that gripped the capital city for a decade. 

“In the last 10 years, the government that Delhi has seen is no less than AAP-DA [disaster], and now we can only hear AAP-DA nahi sahenge, badal ke rahenge [we will not tolerate disaster, will bring change] in Delhi,” PM Modi said targetting Mr. Kejriwal for building a glass palace for himself, referring to the controversy surrounding alleged irregularities in the renovation of the CM’s official residence. 

Responding to the Saamana’s piece, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule slammed Shiv Sena(UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray for running such an editorial and said, “PM Narendra Modi started his life on a very humble background as a tea stall seller. He became PM through his hard work, dedication and by passing several big struggles. Uddhav Thackeray is nowhere close to the comparison of PM Modi because PM Modi has dedicated his life to the 140 crore people of India.” 

Mr. Bawankule who was speaking to journalists in Nagpur also said that Mr. Thackeray didn’t visit Mantralaya or Vidhan Bhavan even for two days when he was Chief Minister of Maharashtra and he needs to introspect before making any strong remarks against the PM in support of Mr. Kejriwal.