Politician Rahul Gandhi vacated his official residence in central Delhi on Saturday on the last day of the deadline following his disqualification as a parliamentarian of the Lok Sabha (lower house of the Parliament).
Gandhi, along with his sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadr, reportedly visited the residence - a bungalow - twice since handing over the keys around 3pm IST.
Earlier, the former Congress chief had received a letter from the Lok Sabha Housing Committee, headed by BJP parliamentarian C.R. Patil asking him to vacate the bungalow which he had been occupying since 2005.
In response, the Congress Party said in a tweet in Hindi: “This whole country is the home of Rahul Gandhi. He lives in the hearts of people. He has an unbreakable bond with the people of the country. Some see him as their son, some see him as their brother while some see him as their leader. This is the reason why the whole country is saying that Rahul… my house is your house.”
Congress Stands in Support of Rahul Gandhi as he vacated his official residence.
© Photo : Twitter/@INCIndia
Congress politicians have accused the federal government of a political vendetta against Gandhi, but Indian law stipulates that a disqualified lawmaker is no longer entitled to government accommodation and has one month to vacate following their sentencing.
Rahul Gandhi's Disqualification
Gandhi was disqualified as a parliamentarian on March 23 following his conviction in a court in the Surat district of Gujarat over a remark made in 2019 during a rally. In 2019, Gandhi implied that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a criminal.
He has been convicted for two years in prison. He was given 30 days to appeal, but lost the appeal on Friday. As such, Gandhi cannot be reinstated as a parliamentarian for now.