Govt asks Priyanka Gandhi to vacate bungalow by Aug 1

The ministry of housing and urban affairs on Wednesday cancelled the government accommodation provided to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at 56,

The ministry of housing and urban affairs on Wednesday cancelled the government accommodation provided to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at 56, Lodhi Estate, on the grounds that she is no longer protected by the Special Protection Group (SPG) and so was not eligible for living in the bungalow in the elite Lutyens’ Delhi .

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“Consequent upon withdrawal of SPG protection and grant of Z+ security cover by Ministry of Home Affairs, which does not have provision for allotment/retention of Government accommodation on security grounds to you, the allotment of Type 68 house No. 35, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi is hereby cancelled w.e.f 01/07/2020. One month concessional period on the same rent up to 01.08.2020 is allowed as per rule,” the letter sent by the ministry said.

“Any stay beyond 01.08.2020 will attract damage charges/penal rent as per rules,” it added in the letter, a copy of which has been seen by HT.

The ministry has also said that Priyanka Gandhi had accumulated dues of RS 3,46,677 towards the accommodation until June 30. “She has been issued noticed to clear these dues and rent for the period (till) she vacates the accommodation,” the ministry said.

Hours after the order, Priyanka Gandhi paid what she owed for living in the house.

“Ms Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has made online payment of balance amount due on her. Hence, now dues as on 30.06.2020 is Nil against her,” a spokesperson for the ministry of housing and urban affairs said.

“The notice to clear Priyanka’s house shows the uneasiness of Modi ji-Yogi ji. We are not afraid of the frustrated decisions of the authoritarian government,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. Priyanka Gandhi has been active on the ground in Uttar Pradesh and had a run-in with the local administration over organising buses to transport migrant workers stranded in other states back to Uttar Pradesh. She is a general secretary of the party in charge of the state.

An aide said Priyanka Gandhi planned to move to Lucknow in February to handle her work. “She has readied a home (late Congress leader Sheila Kaul’s house) there, and if it wasn’t for the pandemic, she would have moved there already. Now, we don’t know whether she will move there, but it was the plan before coronavirus struck,” he said on the condition of anonymity.

According to the current norms, there are no provisions for allotment or retention of government accommodation to those with Z+ security unless exceptions are made based on recommendations given by the home ministry.

“Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been assigned Z+ security with CRPF {Central Reserve Police Force} cover on all-India basis, which does not have any provision for allotment/ retention of Government accommodation on that ground. She is not a SPG protectee now. Persons with Z+ security cover are not entitled for Government accommodation. Exceptions can be made only by CCA (Cabinet Committee on Accommodation) based on security perception assessment by MHA on their recommendation,” a housing and urban affairs ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

“In view of this, she is no longer entitled for Government accommodation and her allotment has been cancelled by the Directorate of Estates,” the official added.

The Centre decided to take away the elite SPG protection from Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi and daughter Priyanka Gandhi in November last year. The family was given ‘Z+’ security by the CRPF. Prior to that centre had also withdrawn SPG cover of former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

The SPG is a federal law enforcement agency under the Cabinet Secretariat charged providing proximate security to the Prime Minister of India, former Prime Minister and their immediate family members.

Priyanka Gandhi was allotted 35, Lodhi Estate on February 21, 1997 on security grounds as an SPG protectee.

“Cabinet Committee on Accommodation (CCA) in its meeting held on 07.12.2000 reviewed the guidelines on allotment of Government accommodation on security grounds and decided that in future no private person, other than those who are SPG protectees, shall be given government accommodation on security grounds. Such allotments were to be done at the market rate i.e. 50 times of normal rent,” the official cited above said.

A the decision to modify the rules was formally taken by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in 2015.

Senior Congress leader and Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh, protested the move and urged the Centre to revoke the order, citing the perceived security threat to the Gandhi family.