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Don’t have a ‘suitable’ house: Mulayam wants to stay in govt bungalow for two more years
Samajwadi Party supremo and former UP CM Mulayam Singh Yadav has sought permission from the state government’s estate department to stay in a government bungalow for another two years saying he does not have an alternative residential accommodation in Lucknow.
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Samajwadi Party (SP) patriarch and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has written a letter to the estate department seeking permission to extend his stay at the 5, Vikramaditya Marg bungalow in Lucknow by two more years in another attempt to remain in government housing.
The move comes days after the department served notices to him and five other former UP chief ministers, asking them to vacate government bungalows within 15 days following a Supreme Court order.
In a letter to the estate department, Mulayam Singh Yadav said he did not have any alternative suitable residential accommodation in the city for shifting within the deadline fixed by the department and he would need two years to shift to a new residence.
As former CM, the administration had provided him security and he has a large number of visitors, he said.
“Mulayam Singh Yadav’s letter has been forwarded to the law department for its opinion. Once the law department’s view is received, the senior Yadav will be informed about the state government’s decision,” said estate officer Yogesh Shukla.
The estate department is also awaiting the law department’s opinion on a similar request by SP chief Akhliesh Yadav to stay for two more years in the bungalow allotted to him, he said.
Also read: Former UP chief ministers busy house-hunting after SC order to vacate govt bungalows
After the Supreme Court ordered six former chief minister to vacate their government bungalows, Mulayam had met chief minister Yogi Adityanath. An officer privy to the meeting said the SP founder had requested the CM to allot his (Mulayam’s) and Akhilesh’s bungalows to the leaders of the opposition in the legislative assembly and the legislative council.
A senior state government officer said the estate department was also scanning affidavits submitted by the former CMs during the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, state assembly and Legislative Council elections, giving details of their immovable property.
In the affidavit submitted during the Legislative Council election in 2012, Akhilesh had stated that he had a residential house in the city on 1A, Vikramaditya Marg worth ₹71 lakh, a person familiar with the matter said.
But an SP leader said it was an old bungalow and had been demolished. Construction was in progress at the site, he said.
The estate department had also served a notice to former CM and senior Congress leader ND Tiwari at his Delhi address. There was no communication from Tiwari on when he will vacate the 1A Mall Avenue bungalow, the estate officer said. Tiwari who is unwell, is undergoing treatment in New Delhi.
BSP chief Mayawati is expected to shift soon to a new address — 9, Mall Avenue — a party leader said. The bungalow number 13A, allotted to her as former CM, has been converted into a memorial to BSP founder Kanshi Ram.
