Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday that he was ready to pay any price for speaking the truth, after he vacated his official residence in New Delhi following his disqualification as a member of Parliament.
Mr. Gandhi, 52, who had been living in a government bungalow at 12 Tughlaq Lane since 2005, was disqualified from the lower house of Parliament last month after he was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison by a court in Surat, Gujarat, in a defamation case for a comment seen as insulting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and those who share his surname during an election rally in 2019.
Today was the last date for Rahul Gandhi to vacate his bungalow after being disqualified from parliament.
Mr. Gandhi, who had appealed the verdict in a court in the state and lost on Friday, said he was targeted by the ruling BJP for his forceful attacks on PM Modi. The former Wayanad MP will now have to appeal in the Gujarat High Court or the Supreme Court against the Surat court's order to retain his Lok Sabha membership.
"People of Hindustan gave me this house for 19 years, I want to thank them. It's the price for speaking the truth. I am ready to pay any price for speaking the truth...," Mr. Gandhi told reporters outside his bungalow before leaving in a car.
He said he was shifting his belongings to his mother Sonia Gandhi's residence at 10 Janpath, where he would stay for now. His sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was seen helping him move in the morning.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat had issued a notice to Mr. Gandhi on March 27 to vacate his bungalow by today, as per the rules that disqualify lawmakers convicted of crimes and sentenced to more than two years in jail.
The Congress party and other opposition parties have condemned the court's verdict and Mr. Gandhi's disqualification as a "political vendetta" and an "assault on democracy" by the BJP-led government.
The BJP, however, has defended the court's decision and accused Mr. Gandhi and his party of questioning the judiciary and disrespecting the law.
"BJP's Bid To Distract From Ambedkar Row": Rahul Gandhi On Parliament Tussle "Double Standards": KTR Asks Rahul Gandhi To Clear Stand On Adani "They Said Bhaiyya Pushed...": Priyanka Slams "Conspiracy" Against Rahul Gandhi Video: Rahul Gandhi Approaches BJP MP Who Fell During Protest, This Happens People Seeking Justice For Atul Subhash Chase Rahul Gandhi. He Does This Congress VS BJP Showdown Over Amit Shah's Remark On BR Ambedkar PM Modi Speaks To King Charles, Reaffirms India-UK Strategic Partnership Zakir Hussain's Funeral To Be Held In San Francisco Today: Report Nitish Kumar Launches App For People To Report Poor Road Conditions In Bihar Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.