Retorting to the reports of a Delhi court asking Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh to vacate his Janpath Road bungalow, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday dubbed the state chief as irresponsible.
BJP leader S. Prakash said that Singh was aware of the rule, stating that a member of the Parliament vacates the accommodation allotted by the government once he loses or leaves the seat, but still he wanted to retain the bungalow.
"It speaks of very sad state of affair and narrow mindedness of Mr. Amarinder Singh . He is the chief Minister of the state and well aware that many past former Chief Ministers lot their accommodations after they were defeated or were chosen as leader of a state," said Prakash.
"The rule is applicable to one and all. And Amarinder Singh is no exception. Even after being aware of the fact he wanted to continue with the bungalow. This does not suit him, he should behave more responsibly as people of Punjab expect new kind of governance from him," he added.
However, the Congress on the other hand termed Singh as a law abiding Chief Minister and said that the Punjab chief will do the needful.
"Well I suppose these are general operating procedures. And I am sure Amarinder Singh ji, being a law abiding Chief Minister, will abide by the rules and regulations and if he is permitted to hold it at market price and he is ready to pay then it is another option," said Congress leader Tom Vadakkan.
A Delhi court yesterday asked Singh to vacate his Janpath Road bungalow, which was allocated to him when he was a Lok Sabha MP.
Terming him as an 'unauthorized occupant', the Patiala House Court dismissed an appeal filed by Singh against the Estate Officer's March 24 order.
According to the order, the premise was allotted to the Chief Minister as an MP from the Amritsar Constituency which was to expire in 2019.
Singh had resigned from the Lok Sabha on November 23 last year and the allotment of the bungalow was cancelled with effect from December 23, 2016. He was directed to surrender the bungalow to the CPWD.
The Congress leader made a request before the chairman of the Lok Sabha's House Committee on February 10 asking them that he be allowed to retain the house on humanitarian grounds as he was suffering from high blood pressure and also because he was heart patient.
On February 14, he received a show cause notice to explain before the court that why an eviction order be not passed against him. The eviction order was later passed in March.
