Rahul Gandhi Vacates His Official Bungalow He Occupied Since 2005

• Image Credit: The Indian Express

• Apr 22, 2023 | Dhupali Das

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi vacated his official bungalow in central Delhi today, the final day of the deadline following his... 

Digital Desk: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi vacated his official bungalow in central Delhi today, the final day of the deadline following his disqualification as an MP of the Lok Sabha. Since morning, Rahul Gandhi and his sister, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, have made two visits to the bungalow. Rahul Gandhi is expected to hand over the keys by 3 p.m. The Lok Sabha Housing Committee, chaired by BJP MP CR Patil, had written to him, requesting that he vacate his 12 Tughlaq Lane property, which he had occupied since 2005, by April 22. Despite the fact that he is forced to leave according to norms, Congress leaders have charged the Centre of political revenge.

A disqualified MP is not eligible for government residence and gets one month to leave his official residence.

The Gujarat court gave him 30 days for filing an appeal, which he did and lost on Friday. This meant that Gandhi could not be reinstated as an MP for the time being.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pointed out the court's appellate judgment upholding the lower court's conviction as a "slap in the face of the Gandhi family" and asserted that the court demonstrated that the law is equal for all people and that "there cannot be special consideration for any family."

The former Wayanad MP will now have to file a petition in the Gujarat High Court or the Supreme Court to overturn the Surat court's decision to keep his Lok Sabha membership.

In a 2019 defamation case, Gandhi was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison by a court in Gujarat's Surat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, for asking during an election rally whether people with the "Modi surname" were "thieves."

Last week, two trucks were parked outside 12 Tughlaq Lane, and workers could be seen moving around various items.

Gandhi, who has decided to leave the residence, has been inundated with accommodation offers from party leaders. His office has stated that he will relocate to his mother Sonia Gandhi's residence at 10 Janpath in the centre Delhi.

The Congress accused the Centre of being revengeful in its pursuit of Gandhi, but the BJP accused him of melodrama. "You are aware of the bounds of appropriateness and what is appropriate in the legal and political systems. Rahul Gandhi has been found guilty by a judge. Then there are automatic procedures," Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said.