The Sunday Guardian

Nishank on his way out of ‘Himalaya Sadan’

- AJIT MAINDOLA NEW DELHI

Lok Sabha MP and former minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank will have to quit his obsession with the 27, Safdarjung Road bungalow.

In fact, all the leaders who have been removed from ministeria­l posts have been asked to vacate the Type VIII bungalows. The former ministers who were asked to move out included Harsh Vardhan, Nishank, Prakash Javadekar, Mahesh

Gangwar, and Sadanand Gawda.

All, except Nishank and Gangwar, have not yet left their respective houses. Gangwar is an eight-time MP, so he is entitled to a Type VIII bungalow. He is trying to convince the high command, but nothing is working in his favour.

MP Rajyavardh­an Singh Rathore is living in 12, Sunehri Bagh Road bungalow which is close to Gangwar’s 13 Sunehri

Bagh Road bungalow. What is worth mentioning is that Rathore is living in this kind of bungalow without being a cabinet rank minister. Gangwar has made no changes in the bungalow he is residing in. But Nishank got his 27, Safdarjung Road bungalow renovated drasticall­y and named it as “Himalaya Sadan”. Nishank may have said that he had to move out of cabinet due to health reasons, but the reality is not what he is saying.

He was the first minister of the Modi government with whom the high command was not happy due to some of his decisions as a minister. In fact, he could not understand the work style of PM Narendra Modi and HM Amit Shah. Personal security agency, heavy expenses on maintenanc­e of the house, appointmen­ts of people close to him, were some of the decisions that did not go down well with the high command. His work as a minister could not impress the high command as well. However, he claims that he took the decision related to new education policy and conducting of NEET examinatio­ns during Covid-19 pandemic. He says that he was relieved of ministeria­l post due to health reasons. He again made a mistake when he was given a notice to vacate the house. He started claiming his entitlemen­t to 27 Safdarjung

Road bungalow because of being former CM.

This again did not go down well with the high command. As a result, the high command allocated this bungalow to Jyotiradit­ya Scindia soon after he was appointed a minister. Nishank was asked to leave the accommodat­ion. He is trying hard to save the bungalow on the health grounds. But success does not seem to be coming.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India