New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will vacate his official residence in central Delhi today, soon after he was disqualified as an MP of the lower house of the Parliament. The Lok Sabha Housing Committee, headed by BJP MP CR Patil, had sent him a letter asking him to vacate his 12 Tughlaq Lane bungalow, which he has been occupying since 2005, by April 22. Though he is required to move out according to protocol, Congress leaders have accused the Centre of political vendetta, reports said.
A disqualified MP is not entitled to a government accommodation and gets a one-month period to vacate his official residence.
The Gujarat court had given him 30 days to file an appeal. He did so and lost on Friday, meaning Gandhi cannot be reinstated as MP for now.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called the appellate court’s decision upholding the lower court’s conviction a “slap in the face of the Gandhi family”, and said that the court proved that the law is equal for all and “there cannot be preferential treatment for any family”.
The former Wayanad MP will now have to appeal in the Gujarat High Court or the Supreme Court against the Surat court’s order to retain his Lok Sabha membership.
