Delhi: PWD Demolishes Stairs Of Under-Construction Congress HQ Citing 'Encroachment', Says Report

The Public Works Department (PWD), which is administered by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), demolished the stairs of the Congress party's under-construction headquarters on Friday.

A visual from the spot

Source : ANI

The Delhi's Public Works Department (PWD) razed the stairs of the Congress party's under-construction headquarters on Friday after they were discovered to be encroaching on the footpath towards the DDU Road in the national capital, news agency ANI reported citing an official familiar with the development. 

The PWD is under the administrative control of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.

According to a PWD employee on the scene, a survey of the under-construction building revealed that the stairs were built on the footpath and thus had to be demolished.

"According to a PWD survey, the stairs were encroaching on a footpath, necessitating demolition," a PWD official was quoted as saying by ANI. 

The demolition of the under-construction Congress headquarters coincided with Rahul Gandhi's disqualification as a Lok Sabha member on Friday.

The disqualification followed his conviction in a 2019 defamation case by a Surat court. Rahul was sentenced to two years in prison for making a remark with the surname 'Modi' at a rally in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

In response to his disqualification, Rahul stated that he was fighting for the restoration of India's voice and was willing to pay any price for it.

Meanwhile, the Congress attacked the Centre on Friday for disqualifying Rahul as a member of Parliament, calling it a "strangulation of democracy" and expressing confidence that the disqualification will be reversed through a stay on his conviction by a higher court.

According to Congress national spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the Centre is using new tactics to "throttle" Rahul Gandhi's voice.

"This government is rattled because he clearly speaks about demonetisation with facts and figures. He is consistently aggressive and opens in his questioning, whether it is about the supposed clean chit to China or the GST. As a result, the government is developing new methods of throttling his voice," Singhvi said.