What will Rahul Gandhi do next? (PTI)
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, whose disqualification from the Lok Sabha was announced on March 24 a day after he was convicted by a Surat court for two years in a 2019 defamation case, has been asked to vacate his official bungalow.
Rahul's disqualification had kicked in from March 23, the day of his conviction, a notice by the Lok Sabha Secretariat had said.
The Congress leader will have to vacate his 12, Tughlaq Lane bungalow by April 22, parliament sources were quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying on Monday.
A notice asking Rahul to vacate the official bungalow has been served by the Housing Committee of Lok Sabha, the sources said.
Earlier on Monday, several opposition MPs marched in black dresses from parliament to Vijay Chowk to lodge their protest Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha and the government's handling of the Adani issue.
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Congress MP Sonia Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge were among the protestors who gathered near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the Parliament complex and raised slogans against the government.
Holding a huge "Satyamev Jayate" banner and placards with "save democracy" written on them, the MPs proceeded towards Vijay Chowk where they staged a sit-in.
Kharge raised the issue of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification as MP after a Surat court convicted and sentenced him in a 2019 criminal defamation case. "You want to defame Rahul Gandhi that is why you transferred the case to Gujarat even as the comments were made in Kolar in Karnataka. Today is a black day for democracy," Kharge said.
Kharge said opposition MPs were dressed in black as the prime minister is "finishing" democracy.
Trinamool Congress, which has so far stayed away from opposition protests, joined the sit-in on Monday.
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(With PTI inputs)
