New Delhi: The Directorate of Estates, the department that manages and maintains the Central government’s official and residential properties, has asked Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra to vacate the government-allotted bungalow immediately. The bungalow had been allotted to her as a Member of Parliament (MP). However, since she was expelled from the Lok Sabha last year over the cash-for-query scandal, the government has asked her to vacate the plush property.

News agency PTI, quoting a Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry source, reported that Moitra has been asked to vacate the house immediately and that a team of the department will be sent to ensure that the property is “vacated at the earliest”.

“Since the eviction notice was issued to her (Moitra) on Tuesday, a team of officials from the directorate of estates will now be sent to ensure that the government bungalow is vacated at the earliest,” a source told the news agency.

Moitra was expelled from the Lok Sabha on December 8 after the Ethics Panel found her guilty of sharing her parliamentary login credentials with businessman Darshan Hiranandani. Earlier, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had lodged a complaint against Moitra saying she accepted bribes in return for asking the businessman’s queries in the Lok Sabha. In her defense, Moitra said she had never accepted any bribes from the businessman and that she shared her credentials only to have his staff type out her queries on to the portal.

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After her expulsion, the Directorate of Estates directed her to vacate the bungalow by January 7. She moved to the Delhi High Court against the order.

On January 4, the Delhi High Court asked the Trinamool leader to approach the Directorate of Estates for permission to occupy the government accommodation allotted to her.

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The court observed that per the rules, the authorities can allow a resident to overstay for up to six months. It, however, said the DoE can decide on her case after applying its own mind.

The Directorate of Estates sent two eviction notices to her this month.