Zee Media Bureau/Tarun Khanna
New Delhi: Despite the fact that the law doesn`t permit any convicted or former MP to stay in government accommodation, the RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has been given special privilege by the UPA to stay in a government bungalow at Delhi`s plush Lutyen`s zone till October 2014.
In a reply to RTI activist Subhash Agarwal’s query, the Union Urban Development Ministry has said that Lalu was allowed to stay in the government bungalow by Union Minister Kamal Nath.
The Ministry also said that the permission was given to Lalu on medical grounds and considering his granddaughter`s school in Delhi.
However, Lalu isn`t the only former minister who is occupying government bungalow in the VIP Zone. Former union minister Buta Singh is also a beneficiary of UPA`s generosity. He is not only overstaying in government bungalow at Teen Murti Marg, but has been allowed to pay rent much less than the market value.
Although the UD Ministry was initially reluctant to make such a proposal for him, yet allowed after a letter from PM Manmohan Singh requesting Nath to let Buta Singh pay a lower rate considering his pension.
The list also includes names of political bigwigs like A Raja, Mukul Roy, SM Krishna, Pawan Kumar Bansal and CP Joshi among 22 ex-ministers who are overstaying in government bungalows for a long time.
As per the RTI information, A Raja has been occupying the government bungalow since November 2010.
