'Cheated, humiliated': Chirag Paswan on being evicted from Delhi govt bungalow

"Dhokha hua hai (It was a betrayal)," Chirag Paswan told NDTV.

The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) MP said he had anyway prepared to vacate the Janpath bungalow as his family was no longer entitled to it after Ram Vilas Paswan's death.

"Something that belongs to the government cannot be permanent and we would never think of claiming it. I was lucky to stay here for so many years. My father played a long innings here...this house was practically the birthplace of the social justice movement," Chirag told the channel.

"During the lockdown, my father used to see the migrants on the road from that house and worry about them. He called the Prime Minister to express his concern," he said.

"I don't feel bad about losing the house...it would have gone someday. I just object to the way in which it was done," Chirag added.

Last week, the government had reportedly sent a team to the premises at 12 Janpath Road to remove Chirag Paswan's belongings.

The eviction came after former food minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet, Ram Vilas Paswan, died in October 2020, days after heart surgery.

The house was the official address of the Lok Janshakti Party in Delhi and was used for all the official events and organizational meetings of the party.

After Ram Vilas Paswan'sdeath, the party had illegally converted the bungalow into a memorial and installed his statue in the lawn.

In 2000, the Centre had banned the conversion of Lutyens' bungalows into memorials.