'Arbitrary And Unprecedented': Raghav Chadha Slams BJP After Court Setback On Bungalow

In a setback for AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, a Delhi court has ruled that he has no right to continue to occupy the government bungalow given to him after the allotment was cancelled.

Aam Adami Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha expressed strong discontent on Friday regarding the abrupt and unusual cancellation of his allocated residence. In his official statement, the AAP MP accused the cancellation of being orchestrated by the BJP to advance their political agenda and personal interests. In an unfavorable development for AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, a Delhi court has determined that he does not possess the right to maintain occupancy of the government bungalow, which was rescinded following the cancellation of the allotment. The court has now revoked the interim stay previously granted to Chadha.

"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 said. Chada also alleged several irregularities in the order and added that subsequent steps were taken by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat in 'clear contravention of 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," he added. Chadha claimed that the bungalow was allotted to him by the Chairman of Rajya Sabha himself after taking into consideration all the factors peculiar to him.

Chadha added that canceling the accommodation without any evident cause or reason suggests that the entire unilateral action was carried out with the intention to unjustly single him out and subject him to unfair treatment. "This along with my suspension as a Member of Parliament, which was initiated by the treasury benches, leaves no doubt that the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to target vocal Members of Parliament. This amounts to unwarranted interference in the due discharge of their functions as the Representatives of the House and hits a rock bottom of vendetta politics," he added.

To support his assertion, Chadha highlighted that several of his neighbors, who were first-time MPs, were allocated the very same accommodation exceeding their entitlement. He specifically mentioned Sudhanshu Trivedi from the BJP, Danish Ali from the Bahujan Samaj Party, Rakesh Sinha, and former MP Roopa Ganguly, who was the prior resident of the bungalow allocated to him.

"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," said 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 AAP leader said. Chadha was given a Type 6 bungalow in July last year and had requested the Rajya Sabha Chairman for a bigger, Type 7 accommodation, which was allotted to him in September that year. In March, however, the secretariat had cancelled the allotment, arguing that the first-time MP was not entitled to a bungalow of that grade.

The AAP MP was asked to vacate the bungalow, which is in central Delhi's Pandara Road, and had moved Delhi's Patiala House court against the order. The court had granted an interim stay on April 18. Lifting the stay on Friday, the Patiala House court said Chadha could not claim an absolute right to occupy the bungalow.