New Delhi:
BJP's Nandkumar Sai, formerly a Lok Sabha MP, spent all of Thursday night on the road with his family and personal belongings. The government's Directorate of Estate evicted him from his official residence in New Delhi for overstaying.
Sai's application seeking an extension beyond June, the end of his term, too had been rejected. But in August, he did managet to get elected to the Rajya Sabha. He was elgible for a government accommodation again, but the directorate remained unaware.
Sai claims he has been targetted for being a member of the opposition. "Congress leaders like Renuka Choudhary, Shanker Singh Vaghela and others continue to hold on to their houses. Why doesn't the Centre act against them?" he asks.
While Sai's maybe a case of miscommunication, the fact is that over 240 other ex-MPs continue to hold on to their government-allotted accommodations. The list of defaulters is a hall of shame, considering it features veterans politicians like Mani Shanker Aiyer, Ram Vilas Paswan and Vinod Khanna, to name a few.
The encroachment of official quarters has resulted in new MPs being housed in hotels and guest houses for the last three months - a stop-gap arrangement that has already cost the new government over 40 lakhs, despite its recent austerity drive.
Eviction is usually the last step against politicians who refuse to give up their homes despite losing elections. The Directorate of Estate says that several notices were served, but the ex-MPs did not cooperate.
Last week, the eviction of former Republican Party of India MP Ramdas Athavle's quarters turned ugly, when his supporters vandalised the new Congress office in Mumbai.
Sai's application seeking an extension beyond June, the end of his term, too had been rejected. But in August, he did managet to get elected to the Rajya Sabha. He was elgible for a government accommodation again, but the directorate remained unaware.
Sai claims he has been targetted for being a member of the opposition. "Congress leaders like Renuka Choudhary, Shanker Singh Vaghela and others continue to hold on to their houses. Why doesn't the Centre act against them?" he asks.
While Sai's maybe a case of miscommunication, the fact is that over 240 other ex-MPs continue to hold on to their government-allotted accommodations. The list of defaulters is a hall of shame, considering it features veterans politicians like Mani Shanker Aiyer, Ram Vilas Paswan and Vinod Khanna, to name a few.
The encroachment of official quarters has resulted in new MPs being housed in hotels and guest houses for the last three months - a stop-gap arrangement that has already cost the new government over 40 lakhs, despite its recent austerity drive.
Eviction is usually the last step against politicians who refuse to give up their homes despite losing elections. The Directorate of Estate says that several notices were served, but the ex-MPs did not cooperate.
Last week, the eviction of former Republican Party of India MP Ramdas Athavle's quarters turned ugly, when his supporters vandalised the new Congress office in Mumbai.
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