Priyanka, minister spar over bungalow

A social media post by Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday triggered a daylong Twitter war with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on his claim that a "powerful" Congress leader had requested him to allot to a Congress MP the government bungalow in Delhi she has to vacate so that she could stay on.

The Congress general secretary refuted him, saying she would be vacating the house by August

1 as required in the eviction letter. "If someone call you Mr Puri, I thank them for their concern, and thank you for your consideration as well, but it still does not change the facts."

The minister tweeted back: "Facts speak for themselves! A powerful Congress leader with much clout in the Party called me on 4 July 2020 at 12:05 pm to request that 35, Lodhi Estate be allotted to another INC MP so that

Priyanka Vadra can stay on. Let's not sensationalise everything please."

The response came after Priyanka trashed a report claiming she had sought more time to vacate the bungalow. "This is FAKE NEWS. I have not made any such request to the government. As per the eviction letter handed to me on the 1st of July, I will be vacating the government accommodation at 35 Lodhi Estate by the 1st of August," she tweeted and added that "we will vacate the accommodation a week before time." Puri countered, "The leader who called me, and many others, is at the very top of the Congress hierarchy... the same political advisor who speaks and acts on your family's behalf. It was when he requested we decided to give a two-month extension in good faith," in a clear reference to Ahmed Patel. Puri asked Priyanka to "sort out the issues within your own party before venting in public".