From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Urban Development Ministry will soon put the Congress on notice to vacate the government bungalow at 24, Akbar Road, it has been occupying for the past 44 years since the Congress split in 1969.
The faction headed by Indira Gandhi moved to this bungalow, with Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma midnight swoop of bringing a truck load of files from the party headquarters at 7 Janar Mantar Road, a property of the Sardar Patel Memorial Trust. The old guards of the Congress occupied the building and since then many parties have set up their headquarters there, including Janata Dal and Janata Dal(U) headed by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar being the latest tenant.
The bungalow No 24 at the Akbar Road became convenient for Congress President Sonia Gandhi who continued to occupy adjacent 10 Janpath after the death of former PM Rajiv Gandhi, with back doors of the two bungalows becoming her movements between them. The Congress also occupied the adjacent bungalow No 26 for its Sewa Dal, but it had to recently vacate it.
The 24, Akbar Road, bungalow was the residence of Andhra Pradesh MP G Venkatswamy as a member of Parliament. In January 1978, the Congress (Indira) moved into it on the invitation by the MP, who was a staunch Indira Gandhi loyalist.
The government is pressurising the Congress to move into its own headquarters built on the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, which also has the headquarters of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India. The land was allotted to the Congress as well as the BJP during the tenure of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The BJP has already moved into its swanky headquarters since 2018, while the Congress has also built its new building, but it does not want the entry from the road named after Deen Dayal Upadhyay, the icon of the BJP.
The Congress building has two openings, one on Deen Dayal Marg and another on the Kotla Road. It is pressing to change the address as 2 Kotla Road. The authorities are opposed to the opening gate on Kotla side. The new building, tentatively called Indira Gandhi Bhawan, is now occupied by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee.
The party originally wanted its headquarters close to the Parliament House and as such Rajiv Gandhi got the government land allotted in 1984 at Dr Rajendra Prasad Road. A modern building, called Jawahar Bhawan, was built there, but it was rejected as the party headquarters because of its glass facade making it unsafe for the leaders. It is now the headquarters of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.
On the back of the Jawahar Bhawan, at bungalow No 5, Raisina Road, is the headquarter of the Indian Youth Congress and National Students Union of India (NSUI), a student wing of the Congress. The government has sent several notices to vacate this property. Besides, the Congress also has an office at 15 Gurdwara Rakabganj Road, another government bungalow which is known as the Congress war room for holding the strategic meetings.
