Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said she will vacate her government accommodation in Delhi by August 1.

New Delhi:

A “powerful Congress leader” had requested that the government bungalow Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has to vacate be allotted to a Congress MP so she could stay on, Union Minister Hardeep Puri alleged today in a tweet. The minister was responding to Priyanka Gandhi hitting out at “fake news” that she had requested more time to vacate the house.

The minister’s tweet did not go unchallenged by the Congress leader, who said “thank you, but I have made no such request”.

The government had on July 1 issued an eviction notice to Priyanka Gandhi for the 35, Lodhi Estate bungalow she was allotted in 1997. She was told that 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 August 1.

A report suggested that she had been granted an extension on her request.

“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,” she said in a tweet.

Hardeep Puri, the Housing Minister, retorted: “Facts speak for themselves! A powerful Congress leader with much clout in the Party called me on 4 July 2020 at 12:05 pm to request that 35, Lodhi Estate be allotted to another INC MP so that Priyanka Vadra can stay on. Let’s not sensationalise everything please.”

Priyanka Gandhi replied: “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.. as required in the eviction letter.”

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

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala had also responded to the minister’s tweet.

Priyanka Gandhi’s husband Robert Vadra had also posted a denial on Facebook and said the family would leave a week before the deadline.
“This is completely incorrect!! We have not asked for any extension of stay. We were sent a notice on the 1st of July to leave in 30 days. We at a time of “Covid” have packed our entire household, and will leave a week before time,” Mr Vadra wrote.