Congress declines to comment on controversy over Speaker's house

New Delhi: Congress today declined to comment on the controversy involving Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who has been asked to pay Rs 1.98 crore in pending rent for occupying a government bungalow despite losing entitlement. “Speaker is very respected… It is not proper to make any comment without collecting facts,” party spokesman Rashid Alvi told reporters. [caption id=“attachment_138726” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Meira Kumar. Reuters”] [/caption] He was asked a number of questions on the issue with reporters reminding Alvi that Kumar was a Congress MP. Kumar has clarified that there was “some error by Directorate of Estates”. The estates department of the Urban Development Ministry sent Kumar the bill for occupying a government residence despite losing entitlement. According to documents accessed through RTI, the house was re-allotted to Kumar in 1986 after the death of her father former Deputy Prime minister Jagjivan Ram. PTI