Lohia Trust vacates govt bungalow in Lko

LUCKNOW : The Lohia Trust, chaired by Samajwadi Party (SP) patron Mulayam Singh Yadav, vacated the government bungalow, 1-Vikramaditya Marg in Lucknow, where it had been functioning for nearly two decades, on Friday night, following eviction notices by the Uttar Pradesh estate department. The estate department took possession of the bungalow and locked it on Saturday.

Shivpal Yadav, president of the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSP-L) is the secretary of the private trust, which had been functioning in the neighbourhood of the SP headquarters.

“The Samajwadi Party withdrew from the trust over 1.5 year ago -- during the Yadav family feud. At the time, the SP formed another trust,” said a Samajwadi Party leader.

Earlier, when the first eviction notice was served to the trust in May 2018, it had sought time from the authorities to vacate the premises and had started paying ₹70,000 as monthly rent (the market rate).

Last year, the estate department had also taken possession of bungalows of former UP chief ministers -- late Narayan Dutt Tiwari, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Kalyan Singh, Mayawati, Rajnath Singh and Akhilesh Yadav.

To recall, in May 2018, the Supreme Court, while hearing a petition filed by the organisation ‘Lok Prahari’, had ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to get all the government bungalows occupied by former chief ministers and private trusts vacated.

Mulayam Singh Yadav had formed the trust in the name of his party’s icon, late Ram Manohar Lohia, to propagate the socialist leader’s ideologies. A life-size statue of Lohia is installed on the premises that were vacated.

WHEN EVICTION NOTICE WAS SERVED TO THE TRUST IN MAY 2018, IT HAD SOUGHT TIME FROM THE AUTHORITIES TO VACATE THE PREMISES AND HAD STARTED PAYING ₹70,000 RENT