To abide by the apex court verdict, the Janata Dal (Secular) on Tuesday symbolically started the process of vacating its office at No. 3, Race Course Road.
The Supreme Court had recently dismissed the curative petition filed by the JD(S) claiming its right on the structure, which it had occupied since 1999.
Leaders symbolically removed framed pictures of party supremo H.D. Deve Gowda and Janata Party founder Jayaprakash Narayan. The party has decided to construct a tin-roofed shed on the vacant land behind the existing structure. The work on clearing the vacant land has commenced.
Mr. Gowda, who had declared that he did not mind running the party from a shed, told presspersons that the JD(S) was a political party recognised by the Election Commission of India. He would write to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to impress upon the Siddaramaiah government to allocate land under the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits for constructing a new party office.
The BBMP had passed a resolution to allocate 1.1 acres of land behind Chowdiah Memorial Hall to the JD(S). But, the move created a controversy with the High Court of Karnataka staying the resolution following a petition filed by K.G. Chandrashekar Bhat, who claimed right over the land.
