Trucks leave Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's government-allotted bungalow at 12 Tughlak Lane for his mother and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson, MP Sonia Gandhi, at 10 Janpath. Rahul is vacating his residence after being disqualified as a Lok Sabha MP. After being disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha due to his conviction in a criminal defamation case in Gujarat last month, the Lok Sabha secretariat had asked him to vacate his official residence by April 22.
News agency ANI posted the video of the trucks carrying Gandhi's belongings, arriving at the residence of UPA chairperson and Congress MP Sonia Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence in Delhi. Watch the video here.
Gandhi was given the bungalow at 12 Tughlak Lane after winning his first Lok Sabha election from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh in 2005. The Congress leader was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on March 23, and according to the rule, a disqualified parliamentarian is not entitled to government housing and has 30 days to vacate the official bungalow.
The disqualification was prompted by a decision in a criminal defamation case in which a local court in Surat convicted the Congress leader for a two-year term over a speech he gave ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election in which he asked about 'how all thieves have Modi surnames'.
Gandhi spoke about his unusual relationship with his residence at the Congress plenary in Raipur earlier this year, claiming that he never had a home because he always stayed in government housing. He also stated that he had no strong attachment to his house.
Following Gandhi's eviction, the grand old party launched the 'Mera Ghar, Aapka Ghar' campaign to symbolically dedicate their home to the former party chief. Rajkumari Gupta, the president of the Delhi Women Congress Sevadal, reportedly "received" her house in Mangolpuri during the tenure of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Other members of Congress also took to social media to welcome the former Congress Chief to their homes.