Congress senior leader Rahul Gandhi has moved out all his belongings from his official residence and handed over the 12, Tughlaq Lane bungalow to Lok Sabha Secretariat on Saturday.
Gandhi, who was disqualified as a Member of Parliament after conviction in a defamation case, was asked to vacate the premises by April 22 following his disqualification and two-year sentence by a Surat court for his "Modi surname" remark.
On April 14, the former Congress president was seen shifting his office and some personal belongings to his mother Sonia Gandhi's official residence at 10, Janpath. He has been living there since.
According to PTI, he moved out his remaining articles today evening. A truck was seen carrying things out of the building.
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Congress leader Shashi Tharoor called it an "exemplary gesture". "The Court gave him 30 days to appeal &the HC or SC could still reinstate him, but his exemplary gesture to move out shows his respect for the rules," he said in a tweet.
Rahul Gandhi had been living in the bungalow for nearly two decades. After vacating, he said, "There is a price for telling the truth. I am paying the price."
On March 23, a Surat court convicted Gandhi of defamation and gave him a two-year sentence, leading to his disqualification as an MP. A day after his disqualification, the Lok Sabha Secretariat had sent him a notice to vacate the premises by April 22.
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Gandhi challenged the magisterial court order in the sessions court in Surat which rejected his appeal to set aside the conviction. The party has decided to challenge the sessions court order in the Gujarat High Court next week.
Rahul Gandhi has reportedly been on a hunt for a space to set up his independent office.
A few years ago, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also asked to vacate her Lodhi Estate bungalow after her SPG security cover was removed.
Rahul Gandhi first got elected as an MP from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh in 2004 and shifted his constituency to Wayanad in 2019.
(With PTI inputs)
