Priyanka Gandhi says she will leave Lutyens' bungalow within deadline, rebuffs Hardeep Singh Puri's claim

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said she will vacate the government bungalow allotted to her within the stipulated deadline, refuting Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s allegations that she was seeking to extend her occupancy tenure.

Puri had claimed in a tweet that he was requested by a “powerful Congress leader” on 4 July to allot the bungalow to a Congress MP so that Vadra could stay on. However, Vadra said in response:

If someone called you Mr Puri, I thank them for their concern, and thank you for your consideration as well but it still does not change the facts: I have made no such request, and I am making no such request. As I said, I will be vacating the house by the 1st of August..1/2 https://t.co/jeHSZAf4MR

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) July 14, 2020

She also said that a report which claimed that her request for more time to vacate the 35, Lodhi Estate bungalow beyond the 1 August deadline was accepted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “fake news”. “I have not made any such request to the government. As per the eviction letter handed to me on 1 July, I will be vacating the government accommodation at 35, Lodhi Estate by 1 August,” she tweeted.

“Just when people thought there is witch hunt against the erstwhile first family of Indian politics, the PM’s move once again validated his large heartedness,” the report read.

This is FAKE NEWS.

I have not made any such request to the government. As per the eviction letter handed to me on the 1st of July, I will be vacating the government accommodation at 35 Lodhi Estate by the 1st of August.https://t.co/GkBO5dkaLs

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) July 14, 2020

The Centre had issued an eviction notice to Vadra on 1 July, asking her to leave the bungalow where she had been staying since 1997. According to the notice, she was no longer eligible for a bungalow after her security cover was downgraded last year from the Special Protection Group, and she was asked to vacate by 1 August.

Hours after the notice was served to her, Vadra paid off all her pending dues, amounting to Rs 3,46,677, until 30 June, Hindustan Times reported. She is planning to move to the house of late Sheila Kaul, her grand-mother Indira Gandhi’s maternal aunt, in Lucknow.

However, BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani further alleged that Vadra had not cleared the dues. “Facts and CONgress can never go ‘hand’ in ‘hand’. The ‘fact’ that a notice had to be served and dues were not paid speaks for itself,” she tweeted.

Facts and CONgress can never go ‘hand’ in ‘hand’... The ‘fact’ that a notice had to be served & dues were not paid speaks for itself...The congress leader called you @HardeepSPuri ji coz high command ka order hai ☺️ https://t.co/5k8SrIt29o

— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) July 14, 2020

Meanwhile, the bungalow in which Vadra has been staying till now has been allotted to BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Anil Baluni .