New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was disqualified from the Lok Sabha after being convicted in a criminal defamation case, has now been asked to vacate the government-allotted bungalow by April 22.
According to official sources, the Lok Sabha Housing Committee has sent a notice to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to vacate his 12, Tughlaq Lane bungalow.
The former Congress president was disqualified as a Lok Sabha member by a Surat court on March 23 after holding him guilty of criminal defamation over his “Modi surname” remark.
The court had sentenced him to two years in jail in 2019 for remarks made at an election rally.
A senior Housing Committee official said a disqualified Lok Sabha member would have to vacate the official bungalow within a month of losing his membership.
Another official said Gandhi may write to the housing committee for an extended stay, a request that may be considered by the panel.
The committee has 11 members from different parties and is headed by BJP MP CR Patil.
The notification issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat was marked to various departments including the Directorate of Estates and the New Delhi Municipal Council for necessary action.
Rahul has refused to apologize for his remarks and claimed that he was removed from the Lok Sabha because the government was scared of his questions on the Adani issue.
Reacting to the notice, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said, “It shows BJP’s hatred towards Rahul Gandhi.”
“For a period of 30 days after the notice is given, a person can continue to live in the same house. After the time period of 30 days, a person can continue to live in the same house by paying rent at the market rate. Rahul Gandhi comes under ‘Z’ plus security category,” he said.
Congress member Manickam Tagore, who is a member of the committee, hit out at the government over the decision, linking it to a sharp criticism of Gandhi’s policies.
When Gandhi spoke against some corporate groups getting all the benefits under this government, his security was changed from SPG to CRPF and when he spoke about “friendship of Adani and Modi” on February 7, he was Disqualified as a parliamentarian, Tagore alleged.
BJP’s national spokesperson Shahzad Poonawalla retorted that the bungalow allotted by the government was not anyone’s private property.