Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha said the court order was unprecedented while accusing the BJP of trying to stifle vocal parliamentarians like him. (Image: PTI/File)
The Delhi court said Rajya MP Raghav Chadha cannot claim absolute right to occupy the residence during his tenure as the allotment of a government bungalow is only a privilege given to him
Delhi’s Patiala House court on Friday ordered AAP leader Raghav Chadha to vacate his government bungalow in the case between him and the Rajya Sabha secretariat over the allotment of the Type VII accommodation to him. The court said the Rajya MP, who recently married Bollywood actor Parineeti Chopra, cannot claim absolute right to occupy the residence during his tenure.
Chadha, however, said the court order was “unprecedented” in more than 70 years of history of the Rajya Sabha, while blaming the BJP for hitting the “rock bottom of vendetta politics” and trying to stifle vocal parliamentarians like him. He also alleged that he did not receive a notice about the cancellation of his duly allotted official accommodation, in which he has been staying for sometime now with more than four years of tenure left as an MP of the Upper House of Parliament.
“At the outset, it is clarified that the cancellation of my duly allotted official accommodation was arbitrary without any notice to me. It is unprecedented in more than 70 years of history of Rajya Sabha that a sitting 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 still remaining. There are many irregularities in the (said) order, and the subsequent steps were taken by the Rajya Sabha secretariat in clear contravention of rules and regulations. The manner of the entire exercise leaves me with no option but to believe that these have been carried out at the dictates of BJP to further their political motives and vested interest in order to scuttle and stifle the political criticism raised by the vocal parliamentarians like me,” he said in a statement issued after the court order became public.
The Rajya Sabha secretariat had cancelled the allotment of the bungalow in Delhi’s Pandara Road in March. But, Chadha moved the court and got a stay order against dispossession in April. The secretariat filed an application opposing Chadha’s, while arguing that the court could not have passed the order without hearing the secretariat. The dispossession order for Chadha came as the Delhi court vacated its stay order.
The court also said the allotment of a government bungalow is only a privilege given to Chadha, who has no vested right to continue occupying the building even after the allotment has been cancelled.
Chadha, who was recently suspended from Rajya Sabha, said the exercise has been carried out to “target and victimise” him, adding that the BJP has left no stone unturned to target those who criticise them.
“The allotment of the (said) accommodation was done by Hon’ble Chairman of Rajya Sabha (himself) after taking into consideration all factors peculiar to me. However, cancelling of the accommodation subsequently without any cause or reason signals that the entire suo motu exercise was undertaken to wrongfully target and victimise me. This, along with my suspension as a Member of Parliament, which was initiated by the treasury benches, leaves no doubt that the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to target vocal Members of Parliament. This amounts to unwarranted interference in the due discharge of their functions as the Representatives of the House and hits a rock bottom of vendetta politics,” he said.
He added: “…many of my neighbours are first-time MPs, who have been allotted the exact same accommodation above their entitlement like Mr Sudhanshu Trivedi, Mr Danish Ali, Mr Rakesh Sinha and Ms Rupa Ganguly who was the previous occupant of the accommodation allotted to me. Interestingly, about 118 out of 240 Rajya Sabha members are living in accommodations above their entitlement, but selectively targeting and interfering with vocal representatives giving a strong opposition to the BJP on the floor of the house…is a sorry state of affairs for the nation.”
The MP said he will taking action in due course of time as the order was based on an “incorrect understanding of the law”. He said this will not faze him and he will continue to raise issues of the people of Punjab and India.
“The trial court had initially accepted my plea and granted me interim relief. It has now returned my case on a legal technicality, which I am legally advised to state is based on an incorrect understanding of the law. I will be taking appropriate action in law in due course. Needless to state that I will continue to raise the voice of people of Punjab and India fearlessly, irrespective of the costs involved,” he said.
