At Whose Cost?

I am a citizen of India paying income and other taxes. I submit that the allotment of a government bungalow to an ordinary citizen like Priyanka Gandhi is highly discriminatory. It has no justification and is a gross misuse of power by the allotting authority.

The ostensible reason for this favour is that the security of the lady is at risk as she is the daughter of an assassinated prime-minister. This argument is flimsy.

Her mother lives in a government bungalow under extraordinary security provided by government at its cost, met from taxes paid by people like me. The bungalow has several rooms. The daughter and son-in-law could live with the mother, who has only one unmarried son. Also, if for any reason, the newly married couple required additional accommodation, two more rooms could be added. That cost would be much less the loss of a bungalow plus one acre at 35 Lodi Estate and additional security arrangements.

 

Sonia Gandhi is presiding over the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, which has a corpus fund of hundreds of crores of rupees, mostly contributed by PSUs. She is reported to be in control of 10 buildings in Delhi. Priyanka could be accommodated in one of them.

The allotment of a government bungalow and security arrangements would be a precedent for repeating this largesse to Rahul, her brother, when he gets married. For how many generations should this poor nation provide houses, security etc. at the cost of millions who dont have shelter, food, clothes, literacy etc?