Government asks Priyanka Gandhi to vacate government bungalow by August 1

New Delhi : Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi has been asked to vacate the government bungalow in Delhi by August 1 and clear her dues online. According to a government notice, her allotment stays cancelled from today and she owes Rs 3.46 lakh in dues.

According to a news report, she was expecting the move after her SPG was removed. She paid all her dues online to ensure that her dues were all paid.

As mentioned in the notice, Priyanka Gandhi was asked to move out of bungalow 35 on Lodhi Estate allotted to her in 1997 as she no longer has Special Protection Group security. She is not entitled to a bungalow, said officials, unless the home ministry makes an exception on grounds of security.

"Consequent upon withdrawal of SPG protection and grant of Z+ security cover by Ministry of Home Affairs, which does not have provision for allotment/retention of government accommodation on security ground to you, the allotment of Type 6B house number 35, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi is hereby cancelled with effect from 01/07/2020," said the ministry's notice.

Priyanka Gandhi has been informed that if she continues to stay in the bungalow beyond August 1, she will have to pay penalties.

Sources close to the Congress leader said she had been reluctant to take the government bungalow in the first place but was forced to do so because of the SPG, which did not allow her to move into Sainik Farms in south Delhi after she married Robert Vadra.

The SPG cover given to Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was removed in November last year by the Centre after assessing the real threat to their lives.

The SPG, a 3000-strong crack commando force that comes with armoured vehicles, now only protects Prime Minister Narendra Modi.