New Delhi: RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav has been asked to vacate his government bungalow in New Delhi with immediate effect.
However the politician has decided to contest the directive with a quasi-judicial authority that handles allocation of government accommodation.
The 66-year-old has tried to persuade the authorities to let him continue in the residence but to no avail.
He currently resides in the bungalow given to him when he was the Union Railway Minister and after abdicating the position, he had an agreement with the Manmohan government that allowed him to continue ownership of the residence till October 2014.
After his conviction in a corruption case which led to his disqualification as a member of parliament, the government amended its agreement and allowed him a year’s extension which ended last month.
Lalu, in his defense, has sought more time to vacate the bungalow citing health reasons and the fact that his grand children have to complete their education at a Delhi school.
Government sources say that Minister for Urban Development, Venkaiah Naidu, will be talking to Lalu to tell him that the request cannot be granted.
According to the new cabinet designation, the house is meant to be used by Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu.
The incumbent government was forced to point out when it came to power that several former ministers continued to illegally occupy their government accommodations despite losing the election.
This incident comes to light after former minister Ajit Singh’s supporters had clashed with the police in September after he was asked to vacate his premises that he was occupying illegally. Singh said his residence should be converted to a memorial for his father Chaudhary Charan Singh.