New Delhi, Jul 7 (PTI) The office of Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta has demanded an unconditional written apology from city Congress chief Devender Yadav for his remarks that exorbitant expenditure is being incurred for renovation of Gupta's official residence.

On Sunday, Yadav had alleged that Gupta is renovating his official residence at an expense of Rs 2.35 crore, of which Rs 94.69 lakh is being spent on bathroom and toilets. The Delhi Congress chief had called the Speaker's residence "Shauchmahal".

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In a letter addressed to the Congress leader, Gupta's office said the facts stated by him were incorrect.

Responding to the letter, Yadav said that the facts and figures mentioned by him were "correct, as the records in our possession indicate".

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The communication from Gupta's office said, "You have mentioned the location of the official residence of the Speaker as 9, Shamnath Marg, which is not his official residence."

It said that Gupta has condemned the statements and "denied them totally and stated that such statements to the media without ascertaining the facts or truth should be avoided".

"He has directed me to inform that you should immediately withdraw your statements and submit an unconditional written apology to him within three days of receipt of this correspondence. He has further directed to inform, especially as you are a former member of the Delhi Assembly, utmost care and respect should be accorded to the Office of the Speaker and it should not be dragged to score political points," the letter read.

In response, Yadav said, "The statement in question has merely raised a legitimate concern regarding the excessive expenditure of public money incurred by certain BJP legislators, including the chief minister".

"As the Speaker holds a constitutional post, he is expected to exercise caution when spending tax payers' money for the renovation of official residence," read Yadav's letter shared by the Delhi Congress on X.

Yadav reminded Gupta that as the leader of opposition from BJP earlier, he had raised similar concerns and strong objections regarding the renovation of 'Sheeshmahal' by the then chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

"We have raised the issue of expenditure involved in the renovation of the Speaker's official residence in the same spirit of accountability, a responsibility we share as representatives of a responsible national opposition party. I sincerely urge you to review the contents of your letter and verify the facts therein," Yadav said.

The Delhi Congress chief said he was confident that the "matter would be considered with fairness, objectivity and commitment to transparency that the Office of the Speaker demands".

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)