NEW DELHI: Former Home Minister in the Rajiv Gandhi cabinet Buta Singh, who was governor of Bihar from 2004, returned to Delhi in 2006 with his grand gubernatorial chair as part of the luggage to a Type IV Lutyens bungalow 11-A, Teen Murti Marg. He will have to move the relic of his past glory to another home. Until he received an eviction notice from the NDA government, he had been staying in Lutyens Delhi as an ex-minister and former National Commission for Scheduled Castes Chairman with cabinet rank for years. The government’s decision to evict most former ministers, CMs and MPs, who have been living in government subsidised luxury has come as a shock to senior honchos like Lalu Prasad. Buta had got his bungalow extension based on security issues since he is a Z+ protectee; but his family reportedly owns a farmhouse on the Ghitorni-Jaipur highway. RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who faced the double ignominy of performing badly in Bihar and was disqualified after conviction in fodder scam has been living at 25 Tughlaq Road, a type VIII bungalow, meant for Cabinet rank ministers, for 10 years. His wife, former Bihar CM Rabri Devi and daughter Misa Bharati lost in the 2014 elections, thus depriving the family of any base whatsoever in Delhi—not even an MP’s house. After getting extension till October 30, 2014 by UPA’s Cabinet Committee on Accommodation, Lalu is currently looking for a home to rent.
After the change of guard at Raisina Hills, the Edwin Lutyen-designed colonial bungalows at the heart of the capital are being cleared of former occupants to make way for new ministers of Narendra Modi’s Cabinet. So far, 162 Congress MPs and 55 former UPA ministers have received eviction notices. Leaders who enjoyed UPA largesse include UIDAI former chief Nandan Nilekani, Assam CM Tarun Gogoi and former PM Manmohan Singh’s adviser TKA Nair. According to Directorate of Estates, these have been put on hold and new orders will be issued.
Delhi is an important playground for even defeated politicians, who require a base to plan and plot returns to power. The list of UPA ministers who lost the elections includes Salman Khurshid, Ajay Maken, Pawan Bansal, Kapil Sibal, Sushilkumar Shinde, Beni Prasad Verma, S Jaipal Reddy, M M Pallam Raju, Sripakash Jaiswal, Subodh Kant Sahay, Sachin Pilot, CP Joshi, Jitin Prasada, RPN Singh, Srikant Jena, Chandresh Kumari Katoch, Farooq Abdullah, Dinsha Patel and Ajit Singh.Twenty-two ex-UPA ministers are occupying bungalows, according to a RTI answer. Many Delhi leaders own homes in the capital, some large and luxurious like former ace lawyer Kapil Sibal, staying at 19, Teen Murti Marg. For Ajay Maken, Delhi being home, moving back to Rajouri Garden would not be a loss.