Centre issues notice to Congress to vacate 24 Akbar Road office by March 28

The Centre has reportedly issued a notice to the Congress asking it to vacate its office at 24 Akbar Road by March 28. The office has served as the Grand Old Party’s headquarters for 48 years.

According to a report by ANI, quoting Congress sources, the notice was issued by the Estate Department on Wednesday (March 25).

After the Congress opened its new office, the Congress party's headquarters remained there for 48 years. However, after the opposition party opened its new office, Indira Bhavan, at Kotla Marg last year, the Akbar Road premises have yet to be vacated, and party activities were still taking place at the old office.

Notice and legal option

The party has also been asked to vacate the Indian Youth Congress office at 5, Raisina Road, reported NDTV, quoting sources. The report further stated that the party was considering legal recourse against the notice.

Lashing out at the Centre over the development, Lok Sabha MP Imran Masood described the move as a bid to “silence” the party by creating pressure on it.

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“The government thinks it can silence Congress by creating pressure on us. They should not try to scare us. Have they got the BJP office at 11, Ashok Road or at Pant Marg?... Because they have not been able to do anything regarding the Iran war, they are trying to deflect attention from this issue,” said Masood as quoted by ANI.

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari dubbed the BJP government at the Centre as “not a democratic government” adding, “It is unfortunate. Let the notice reach us. We will act on it after holding discussions.”

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said the government should apply its rule uniformly to all and not single it out.

Akbar Road Legacy

When Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the party’s new headquarters last year, several senior Congress leaders had said their emotional ties to the 24, Akbar Road office would endure.

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The Akbar Road premises carry a long institutional memory. The bungalow once housed Sir Reginald Maxwell, who served on the Executive Council of Viceroy Lord Linlithgow during the colonial period, reported NDTV.

In the early 1960s, the same address became the residence of Daw Khin Kyi, Myanmar’s Ambassador to India. Her daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, who would later be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, spent part of her early years there.

Congress split and revival

The defining political phase of the bungalow began in the late 1970s. After the Congress suffered a heavy defeat in the 1977 general elections, the party split, with Indira Gandhi leading a breakaway faction that required a functioning base. Rajya Sabha MP G. Venkatswamy, a close associate of Indira Gandhi, offered his Akbar Road residence for the purpose.

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The bungalow went on to witness the party’s resurgence and continued as its central office through the tenures of Rajiv Gandhi, P. V. Narasimha Rao, and Manmohan Singh. Over the years, the premises were expanded to accommodate the party’s growing requirements, remaining its headquarters until a shift to a new location was completed.

(With agency inputs)