Modi surname case: Rahul Gandhi vacates Delhi bungalow he held since 2005
New Delhi : On the final day of the deadline after his disqualification as a member of the lower house of Parliament, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has vacated his official residence in central Delhi. In the morning, he along with his sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was seen going in the bungalow twice.
The Lok Sabha Housing Committee, headed by BJP MP CR Patil, had sent an official letter to Mr. Gandhi asking him to vacate the 12 Tughlaq Lane bungalow in which he had been residing since 2005 by April 22. He has been asked to move out of the bungalow as per protocol but the Congress leaders have accused the Centre of engaging in political vendetta.
As per rule, a MP who has been disqualified is no longer eligible for government housing and is typically given one month to vacate their official residence. Particularly in Rahul Gandhi's case, the Gujarat court had granted him 30 days to file an appeal, which he did, but unfortunately lost on Friday. After which, he cannot be reinstated as an MP.
In order to challenge the Surat court's decision to disqualify him from his Lok Sabha membership, the former Wayanad MP will now require to file an appeal with either the Gujarat High Court or the Supreme Court.
On April 3, the Surat Sessions Court granted the Congress leader bail after he filed an appeal following his conviction in a defamation case in 2019. 52-years-old Rahul Gandhi was convicted in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat and sentenced to two years in prison for making comments at an election rally on people with "Modi surname".
In his public address, Rahul Gandhi had said that people with "Modi surname" have one thing in common that is they are "thieves".
