Evicted from 12, Janpath, saddened Chirag Paswan claims humiliation

Stating that his family was ready to vacate the 12 Janpath bungalow in Delhi, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) MP Chirag Paswan on Saturday claimed that he had been humiliated while expressing sadness over the official action.

The 12 Janpath bungalow in Delhi for a long time had been the residence of the founder of the LJP and former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and after his demise in 2020, the family members continued to occupy the landmark address in the heart of Lutyens' zone.

The 12 Janpath bungalow had, incidentally, been first allotted to Ram Vilas Paswan in 1990.

Chirag Paswan said that he was saddened by the manner in which the 12 Janpath bungalow was vacated by the officials. Je said that his family was ready to vacate the house.

Addressing the media, Paswan said, "I am saddened by the way the house was vacated. I never said that I want to occupy 12, Janpath forever. My family respects the law. We were ready to vacate the house, but why were we humiliated like this?"

"People of Bihar are seeing all these things," he added.

Coming out in support of Chirag Paswan, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for evicting the family members of the LJP founder from the 12, Janpath bungalow.

Yadav said that the BJP set fire to the bungalow of 'Hanuman'.

"Ram Vilas Paswan stood with the BJP till his last days like Hanuman. The BJP set the bungalow of Hanuman on fire. This is what one gets in return after supporting the BJP, which has already split the party," Yadav said.

Months after the eviction notice, Chirag Paswan vacated the 12, Janpath bungalow on March 30.

On Thursday, the Delhi High Court dismissed a plea against the eviction order.

An eviction order was issued last year by the Directorate of Estates (DoE) while multiple reminders were sent, officials said.

Ram Vilas Paswan was a Union Minister, with stints in several governments at the Centre.

The 12, Janpath bungalow also served as a hub of LJP's political activities with Ram Vilas Paswan holding regular party programmes and meetings. A bust of Ram Vilas Paswan was also placed in front of the main gate at 12, Janpath.

After the demise of Ram Vilas Paswan in October 2020, the bungalow was allotted to Union Railways and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in August last year. Chirag Paswan has already been allotted a flat, officials said.