New Delhi: Congress leader and former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi on Saturday vacated his official 12, Tughlaq Lane bungalow after a court order following his conviction in a defamation case.

Rahul Gandhi was asked to vacate the bungalow, he has held since 2005

Rahul Gandhi was asked to vacate the bungalow, he has held since 2005, by April 22.

On March 23, a Surat court had convicted Rahul Gandhi and sentenced him to two years in jail for his “Modi surname” remark. Gandhi lost his Wayanand seat as he was disqualified as MP because under the Representation of the People Act, an Indian lawmaker convicted of a crime and sentenced to two or more years in jail stands disqualified from parliament with immediate effect.

A disqualified MP is not entitled to a government accommodation and gets a one-month period to vacate his official residence. His belongings were already shifted from his official residence to his mother Sonia Gandhi’s house at 10 Janpath. Trucks were spotted departing from his 12 Tughlak Lane bungalow this afternoon.

After vacating the bungalow, Rahul Gandhi said, “People of Hindustan gave me this house for 19 years, I want to thank them. It’s the price for speaking the truth. I am ready to pay any price for speaking the truth….” He was seen handing over his official bungalow, at Tughlak Lane, in the presence of Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and KC Venugopal.