A day after moving all his belongings from his official residence at the 12 Tughlaq Lane bungalow in Lutyens’ Delhi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi handed over the government bungalow to the authorities on Saturday, April 22. It is notable that April 22 was the last date to vacate the bungalow as per the directive of the Lok Sabha Housing Committee. Rahul Gandhi’s belongings have reportedly been moved to his mother Sonia Gandhi’s 10 Janpath residence.
This comes after a Surat Sessions court rejected Rahul Gandhi’s plea for suspending his 2 years punishment in the ‘Modi surname’ case. The plea was rejected on Thursday, April 20. The two years punishment, given upon his conviction, still stands and he continues to be disqualified as an MP, in accordance with the Representation of the People Act, of 1951.
It is notable that Rahul Gandhi was convicted and sentenced to two years in jail on March 23 for his remarks insulting the Modi surname. During an election rally in 2019, Rahul Gandhi alleged that everyone with the Modi surname, including Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, and Narendra Modi, are thieves. Following this, Gujarat BJP leader Purnesh Modi filed a criminal defamation case against the Congress leader, accusing him of defaming the entire Modi community. The Gandhi scion, however, was granted bail immediately and the court sentence was also suspended for a month.
In accordance with the law, the Lok Sabha Secretariat disqualified Rahul Gandhi and declared his constituency vacant in response to the Surat court judgment. It was reported that the Election Commission can now call a by-election for the seat.