Rahul Gandhi vacates official residence

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today vacated his official bungalow on Tughlaq Road in the heart of Delhi following his disqualification as a lawmaker.

He said he was "paying the price for speaking the truth".

As he handed over the keys of the bungalow where he had stayed for 19 years since being elected a member of the Lok Sabha for the first time in 2004, Rahul told the media that he would stay at his mother Sonia Gandhi's residence at Janpath for some time.

Sonia Gandhi and Rahul's sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were also present there as Rahul moved out of the Tughlaq Road bungalow.

Rahul said he "wants to thank the people of India who gave me this house for 19 years. I paid the price for speaking truth and am ready to pay any price."

Priyanka said "whatever my brother is saying is the truth. He spoke the truth about the government and that's why all this is happening. But he is very courageous and never gets scared. He will carry on his fight."

Rahul Gandhi was convicted by a magistrate's court in Surat in India's Gujarat state on March 23 in a defamation case filed in 2019 for his remark "how come all thieves have Modi surname in common".

As he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in the case, he was immediately disqualified from the Lok Sabha and was asked to vacate his official bungalow.

Rahul's appeal for a stay on his conviction was rejected by the additional sessions court in Surat. A stay on the conviction would have restored Rahul's Lok Sabha membership.

Congress party has said it plans to move to the high court against the sessions court ruling.

Rahul had contested Lok Sabha election from his traditional constituency of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh in 2019 state but retained the second seat in Wayanad in Kerala state where he had won.