New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has been offered Bungalow No. 5 at Sunehri Bagh as his official residence after having to vacate his previous 12, Tughlaq Road home due to his disqualification from the Lok Sabha last year.
Gandhi, the MP from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, is yet to accept the offer to take up residence at Bungalow No. 5 at Sunehri Bagh, which was earlier occupied by A. Narayanaswamy, BJP MP from Chitradurga, who was made a Minister of State in 2019. Narayanaswamy was denied a ticket in 2024.
Congress sources said that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra inspected the bungalow Friday.
Rahul won with a thumping majority from both Rae Bareli and Wayanad constituencies in Lok Sabha 2024. He chose to represent the family bastion of Rae Bareli, giving up Wayanad for sister Priyanka who will make her electoral debut from this Kerala seat.
A senior official of the Directorate of Estates under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, who did not wish to be named, told ThePrint that Rahul was offered the Type-VIII bungalow Thursday and that a formal notification in this regard would be issued once he accepts the offer.
Sources in the ministry said that nine Union ministers have been allotted bungalows so far.
Housing and Urban Affairs Minister and former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has been allotted 3, Krishna Menon Marg, while Rural Development and Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will soon move into the Type-VIII bungalow at 12 Safdarjung Road.
Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram and Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Paatil have been allotted 36, APJ Abdul Kalam Road and 2, Safdarjung Road, respectively.
Among NDA allies who have been allotted bunglows are Food Processing Industries Minister Chirag Paswan, MSME Minister Jitan Ram Majhi, Minister of Heavy Industries and Steel Kumaraswamy, Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu and Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary.
“There are a lot of ministers who are awaiting allotment of bungalows. We don’t have any Type-VIII bungalow (which is allotted to ministers) available right now. Last month, we had issued notices to all former ministers who are not part of the present Cabinet to vacate the bungalows. Some of them are yet to vacate,” said the official quoted earlier.
Rahul lived with mother
Rahul Gandhi vacated the 12, Tughlaq Lane on 22 April after his disqualification last year in the “Modi surname” defamation case and moved in with his mother Sonia Gandhi at 10, Janpath.
Following his reinstatement as a Lok Sabha member by a Supreme Court order, the government bungalow at 12, Tughlaq Lane was reallocated to Rahul in August 2023. He had lived in this house for nearly two decades.
In response to being given back the 12, Tughlaq Lane residence, Rahul had remarked, “Mera ghar pura Hindustan hai.”
DoE writes to ex-ministers to vacate bungalows
Earlier on 16 July, 200 former Lok Sabha MPs were reportedly asked to vacate their official bungalows in Lutyens’ Delhi and were issued eviction notices.
These notices were issued under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act.
While the Lok Sabha Secretariat manages accommodation for current MPs, the Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) Ministry is responsible for allocating bungalows to Union ministers in Lutyens’ Delhi, Leader of the House and Leader of the opposition. Eviction proceedings are initiated when former ministers and MPs do not vacate their official residences within the specified timeframe.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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