Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will reportedly shift to his mother Sonia Gandhi's residence at 10 Janpath, following his disqualification from Parliament and subsequent notice to vacate his bungalow at 12, Tughlaq Lane. Sources have said that the furnishings of Rahul's house are already being shifted to the new location, while a house is being searched for the work of Rahul's office.
As per the rules, Rahul Gandhi had to vacate his government bungalow within one month of the disqualification order, which was issued on March 24. In response to this notice, Rahul Gandhi had stated that he would comply with the order. He had written a letter to Deputy Secretary Mohit Rajan in the Lok Sabha Secretariat, thanking him for the letter dated March 27, 2023, regarding the cancellation of his residence at 12 Tughlaq Lane. Rahul Gandhi had acknowledged that it was the people's mandate, to which he attributed the happy memories of his time at the bungalow, and that he would definitely carry out the order.
It may be noted that Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a Lok Sabha MP after he was sentenced to two years in prison by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case. This case was registered against Rahul Gandhi's comment on Modi surname. However, he has since obtained bail in the case.
The Surat district and sessions court will hear Rahul Gandhi's appeal against the conviction on April 13. On May 3, it will hear the plea on his sentencing.
Congress on Tuesday demanded a debate in Parliament over Rahul Gandhi's disqualification. "There should be a debate in the Parliament as to ascertain the fact that whether our leader Shri Rahul Gandhi ji has been awarded disproportionate punishment which smacks of cognitive dissonance or equality of law is meted out to all the elected members whosoever," Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote in a letter to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla.