Priya Aditi
On Friday, Raghav Chadha, a member of the Aam Adami Party (AAP), voiced his strong discontent with the sudden and atypical cancellation of his designated residence. The AAP member of parliament claimed in an official statement that the BJP orchestrated the cancellation in order to further their own political agenda and personal interests. Raghav Chadha, an AAP Rajya Sabha MP, has encountered an unfavorable development when a Delhi court rules that he lacks the authority to continue occupying the government bungalow, the tenancy of which was revoked subsequent to the allotment cancellation. Previously, the court had granted Chadha an interim stay, which has since been revoked.
“It is unprecedented in more than 70 years of history of Rajya Sabha that a sitting Rajya Sabha member is sought to be removed from his duly allotted accommodation where he has been residing for a while and more than 4 years of his tenure as Rajya Sabha member are still remaining,” Chadha stated. Chada further asserted that the order contained a number of irregularities and that the Rajya Sabha Secretariat subsequently executed measures that were in “blatant disregard for rules and regulations.”
“The manner of the entire exercise leaves me with no option but to believe that these have been carried out at the dictates of BJP to further their political motives and vested interest in order to scuttle and stifle the political criticism raised by the vocal parliamentarians like me,” according to him. Chadha asserted that the bungalow was personally allocated to him by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who duly considered his unique circumstances.
Chadha further stated that the absence of a discernible cause or reason for terminating the accommodation implies that the unilateral action was executed with the deliberate intention of singling him out and subjecting him to unjust treatment. “This, in conjunction with the treasury benches’ instigation of my suspension as a Member of Parliament, unequivocally establishes that the BJP is making every effort to undermine outspoken Members of Parliament.” “This is an unwarranted intrusion into the proper performance of their duties as House Representatives and reaches its nadir of personal grudge politics,” he further stated.
In bolstering his claim, Chadha emphasized that a number of his first-term Member of Parliament neighbors were allotted the identical lodging, surpassing their allotment. Former Member of Parliament Roopa Ganguly, who occupied the bungalow allotted to him, Danish Ali of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Rakesh Sinha, and Sudhanshu Trivedi of the BJP were all mentioned in detail.
“Interestingly, about 118 out of 240 Rajya Sabha Members are living in accommodations above their entitlement but selectively targeting and interfering with vocal representatives, who are giving a strong opposition to BJP on the floor of the house and maintaining a healthy democracy, is a sorry state of affairs for the nation,” according to Chadha.
“Needless to say, I will continue to raise the voice of the people of Punjab and India fearlessly, irrespective of the costs involved,” the leader of the AAP stated. Chadha was granted a Type 6 bungalow in July of the previous year. In September of that year, in response to his appeal to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, he was granted a larger Type 7 accommodation. However, the allocation was revoked by the secretariat in March on the grounds that the first-time member of parliament was not deserving of a cottage of that caliber.
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The AAP representative, who was ordered to vacate the bungalow located on Pandara Road in central Delhi, filed an appeal with the Patiala House court in Delhi challenging the order. April 18 saw the issuance of an interim stay by the court. The Patiala House court lifted the injunction on Friday, determining that Chadha lacked an absolute right to occupy the bungalow.
