Rahul Gandhi vacates official bungalow at Tughlaq Lane

Several Congress leaders extend support to him in social media

Rahul Gandhi vacates official residence Congress leader and former Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi leaves as he vacated his official bungalow, in New Delhi, Saturday | PTI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was disqualified as Lok Sabha MP last month following his conviction over 'Modi surname' remarks, vacated his official bungalow at 12, Tughlaq Lane, Delhi on Saturday.

Since it was public holiday, Eid al-Fitr, Gandhi was not able to hand over the keys of the bungalow to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

Several Congress leaders extended support to the former party president with a hashtag 'MeraGharAapkaGhar' on social media.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that Gandhi vacating the bungalow was an "exemplary gesture".

"Today @RahulGandhi vacates his home at TughlaqLane in response to the LokSabha Secretariat’s order. 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," Tharoor tweeted.

Rahul Gandhi was asked to vacate the premises by April 22 following his conviction and two-year sentence by a Surat court over 'Modi surname' remarks.

On April 14, Gandhi had shifted his office and some personal belongings from the bungalow to his mother Sonia Gandhi's residence.

He has been living in the bungalow for nearly two decades.

Recently, the sessions court in Surat rejected Rahul's appeal to set aside the conviction. The magisterial court order convicting Gandhi of defamation and two-year sentence led his disqualification as MP.

The party had said that the session court order will be challenged in the Gujarat High Court next week.

A day after his disqualification, the Lok Sabha Secretariat had sent Gandhi a notice to vacate the premises by April 22.

After contesting from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, Gandhi shifted his constituency to Wayanad in 2019.

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