Unprecedented: Raghav Chadha slams BJP after court setback on bungalow

Labeling the cancellation of the bungalow’s allotment ‘arbitrary and unprecedented’, Rajya Sabha MP and AAP leader Raghav Chadha attacked BJP, alleging that it was done at the “dictates of the BJP to further their political motives and vested interests”.

A Delhi court ruled that AAP leader Chadha has no right to continue to occupy the government bungalow given to him after the allotment was cancelled and further lifted the interim stay granted to Chadha. Following the court’s order, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat can ask Chadha to vacate the bungalow at any time.

Chadha further alleged that he was not served a notice, "The cancellation of my duly allotted official accommodation was arbitrary without any notice to me. It is unprecedented in more than 70 years of the history of the Rajya Sabha that a sitting Upper House member is sought to be removed from his duly allotted accommodation where he has been residing for a while and more than 4 years of his tenure is still remaining," the AAP leader said.

Further hitting out at the BJP, Chadha said, "The manner of the entire exercise leaves me with no option but to believe that these have been carried out at the dictates of the BJP to further their political motives and vested interests in order to scuttle and stifle the political criticism raised by vocal parliamentarians like me."

What has happened?

The AAP leader was allotted a Type 6 bungalow in July earlier in 2021 which is in central Delhi's Pandara Road and had requested the Rajya Sabha Chairman for a bigger, Type 7 accommodation, which was allotted to him in September last year. In March, however, the Secretariat had cancelled the allotment, arguing that the first-time MP was not entitled to a bungalow of that grade.

Chadha was directed to vacate the Delhi bungalow. The Upper House MP moved Delhi's Patiala House court against the order. The court granted an interim stay on April 18.

The Patiala House Court lifted the interim stay on Friday (October 6) and directed that Chadha could not claim an absolute right to occupy the bungalow.