'Ready to pay any price': Rahul Gandhi says as he vacates his bungalow

As Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday vacated his official bungalow following his disqualification from Parliament, he said he is ready to pay any price for speaking the truth.

Rahul Gandhi said the bungalow was given to him by the people of the country and he stayed there for 19 years. "I don't want to stay. No problem that the place where I lived for 19 years has been snatched from me," Rahul Gandhi said as he officially handed over the keys of his Tuglaq lane bungalow.

Rahul Gandhi's mother Sonia Gandhi, sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were also present there as Rahul left his address of 19 years.

"There is a price for telling the truth. I am paying the price," Rahul Gandhi said.

Before leaving, Rahul Gandhi shook hands with the staff, closed the door himself and handed over the key before approaching the journalists and photographers.

"Whatever my brother is saying is the truth. He spoke the truth about the government and that's why all this is happening. But he is very courageous, he never gets scared. He will carry on his fight," Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said.

"Leaving the house is not an issue for Rahul Gandhi, but the way the Modi government is targetting Rahul Gandhi for speaking the truth is political vendetta. Every Indian can now see this -- two-year imprisonment, an immediate disqualification, immediate notice to vacate the house," Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said.

On 23 March, a Surat court convicted Rahul Gandhi in a 2019 defamation case for his statement 'how come all thieves have Modi surname in common'. As he was sentenced to two years imprisonment in the case, he was immediately disqualified from the Lok Sabha and was asked to vacate his official bungalow. While Rahul Gandhi appealed against the Surat court order in a higher court, he started the process of shifting on April 14. On April 20, the sessions court rejected Rahul Gandhi's plea for a stay on the conviction.

The party said it will avail of other legal options in the case but in the meantime, Rahul Gandhi vacated his bungalow.

Rahul Gandhi became an MP for the first time in 2004 from his family's Amethi seat. In 2019, Rahul Gandhi lost Amethi to BJP's Smriti Irani, but retained his Lok Sabha membership as he won from Kerala's Wayanad.