Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
New Delhi, The row over the official bungalow occupied by Rashtriya Lok Dal(RLD) chief and former Union Minister Ajit Singh here escalated on Friday, with Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu hardening his stand against Ajit and the Congress on the issue. And Venkaiah said the “government is bound by rules”.
The minister sought to know why Ajit or the Congress did not convert the house into a memorial for former Prime Minister Charan Singh, when the UPA was in power.
Venkaiah made it clear that there was no personal or political vendetta involved in the decision to evict Ajit from the government accommodation. “There is no question of discourteous behaviour at all. My government does not believe in political vendetta. There is no politics involved in the eviction. I am not against anyone personally,” he said.
Further, Venkaiah pointed out that he is “governed by the rules, regulations and procedures”, which were well-established and laid out before the BJP-NDA Government when it assumed power.
“There is no political vendetta involved. Charan Singh was a respected leader and I used to admire him because he was a farmers’ leader,” he said. On converting the bungalow into a memorial, the minister said that no one was prevented from doing so in the last 37 years after Charan Singh’s demise. “Charan Singh died 37 years ago. In these 37 years, nothing was done and it is not fair to accuse us now,” he said.
The minister also recalled that the Union Government had decided some 14 years ago that no official bungalow would be converted into memorials. “We have been in government for just three months. Ajit was an important minister at the Centre in the previous government. So how can we do it?” said Venkaiah.
The RLD chief, who lost the Lok Sabha polls, was served an eviction notice and power supply to the sprawling bungalow was disconnected by the authorities last week. Following this Ajit’s supporters threatened to sever the water connection to Delhi and staged protests in UP.
