Rahul to vacate house, to visit Kolar, Congress to gain through disqualification

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that he will vacate his official residence in his reply to the notice of Lok Sabha Housing Committee. The Lok Sabha Housing Committee issued the notice asking him to vacate his 12 Tughlaq Lane bungalow after he was disqualified from the MP post in a defamation case. He has been asked to vacate before April 22.

Rahul was eligible for the residence only as an MP as his SPG security was withdrawn and he had no official leadership posts. The government bungalow allotted to AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi at Lodhi Estate was vacated soon after the withdrawal of SPG security in July 2020. Meantime, the CRPF will review Rahul Gandhi's security in the context of vacating his official residence. However, it is reported that his security may not be reduced.

In the meanwhile, Rahul has decided to visit Kolar, the place where he made the controversial speech. The congress is planning to stage protests on April 5. The venue for the protests will be the same place where he made the controversial speech. Reports said the party’s decision is to make the disqualification issue as the main campaign issue in the Karnataka assembly polls.

Rahul was sentenced to two years in jail by the Surat CJM court in the case of insulting the Modi community. Rahul delivered the speech during the 2019 Lok Sabha election rally at Kolar in Karnataka. Rahul's controversial remark was ‘how come all thieves have the surname Modi. BJP MLA and former minister Purnesh Modi filed a defamation case against it. The complaint said that Rahul's remark was tantamount to insulting everyone named Modi.