After notice, Rahul Gandhi agrees to vacate 12, Tughlak Lane residence

“Without prejudice to my rights, I will, of course, abide by the details contained in your letter,” Mr. Gandhi wrote to the Lok Sabha Secretariat

A man waves a flag in front of the barricaded entrance to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s official bungalow, which the disqualified MP has been asked to vacate by the Lok Sabha House Committee | Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was served a notice to vacate his 12 Tughlak Lane official bungalow following his disqualification from the Lok Sabha, Mr. Gandhi on March 28 in a letter to the Lok Sabha Secretariat said that he would abide by the eviction notice.

In his communication to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, Mr. Gandhi said, “thank you for your letter of March 27, 2023, regarding the cancellation of my accommodation at 12 Tughlak Lane. As an elected member of the Lok Sabha over the last four terms, it is the mandate of the people to which I owe the happy memories of my time spent here.”

“Without prejudice to my rights, I will, of course, abide by the details contained in your letter,” he added. Though Mr. Gandhi mentioned his rights in the letter, his legal team is yet to file an appeal at the Session’s Judge Court in Surat.

Slamming the Centre over the eviction notice, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, ”They will do everything to weaken him [Rahul Gandhi]. He can go live with his mother or he can come to me. I condemn this attitude of the government to threaten, scare and humiliate”.

On Tuesday, however, the party stepped up its street protest as it attempted to take out the Loktantra Bachao Mashal Shanti march from the Red Fort to the Town Hall in Chandni Chowk, a distance of 1.2 kilometres. Several senior leaders including MPs were, however, detained by the Delhi Police as they were prevented from taking out the march.

“The Delhi Police is stopping us from taking out the Loktantra Bachao Mashal Shanti March from Red fort, and did not allow us to reach the venue! However, this has not deterred us, and we have begun our march from the police barricades itself,” Congress secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal said.

Meanwhile, the Congress announced a series of protests to target the Narendra Modi government over the next 30 days.

Earlier, Mr. Venugopal announced a series of protest programmes, including a postcard campaign where Youth Congress leaders will send postcards to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking questions about his relationship with industrialist Gautam Adani.