Rebel BJP MLA demands Raje vacate govt bungalow

Citing the Supreme Court order against

life-long possession of government bungalows by former chief ministers, rebel Rajasthan BJP MLA Ghanshyam Tiwari today demanded that Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje vacate the accommodation that she has allegedly occupied in addition to the official residence of the CM.

Tiwari today submitted a memorandum to Governor Kalyan Singh at Raj Bhawan, alleging that Raje has misused her privileges to "encroach" on bungalow number 13 in Civil Lines area here as a former chief minister, as she is simultaneously using the official CM residence-- bungalow number 8.

Speaking to reporters outside the Raj Bhawan, Tiwari claimed that the governor said that Supreme Court ruling is the law of the land and applies in the entire country.

 

The Governor said that he has already vacated the government bungalow allotted to him as a former chief minister in Lucknow, Ghanshyam Tiwari, president of the Deen Dayal Vahini, said.

He said that the Supreme Court had annulled UP government section 4 (3) of the Uttar Pradesh Ministers Act, 1981 as it had provisioned life-long possession of government bungalows by former chief ministers.

In view of the apex court ruling, Tiwari contended, the Rajasthan Ministers Salaries (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which he claims was passed under the Raje government to take life-long possession of the bungalow, is unconstitutional.

The bill entitles former chief ministers in the state to a government bungalow for the rest of their lives. He alleged that the bill was a government attempt to implement feudalism in the state and demanded that Raje should shift to the CM's official residence at 8 civil lines.

The BJP MLA sought a high-level inquiry and recovery of expenses on maintenance of bungalow number 8 and "funds spent on luxuries in last four years from government coffers" on bungalow number 13.

Tiwari has been criticising Raje and the BJP leadership after the party's national discipline committee issued show-cause notices to him last year.

The notices were sent after the MLA alleged that the Rajasthan BJP had become a place for mafias and sycophants, while the dedicated, loyal and qualified people were being sidelined.