Congress leaders have slammed the BJP government after receiving a notice to vacate their 48-year-old office at 24 Akbar Road. MP Imran Masood accused the government of using pressure tactics to silence the opposition and deflect from other issues.

Congress alleges 'pressure tactics' over office eviction notice

Amid mounting chaos over a notice to vacate party office at 24 Akbar Road, Congress MP Imran Masood on Wednesday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was attempting to silence the party through pressure tactics.

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His remarks come after the Estate Department issued a notice to Congress, directing the opposition party to vacate its office at 24 Akbar Road by March 28, according to party sources.

"The govt 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," Masood told ANI.

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari criticised the BJP government, calling it "undemocratic". "The BJP government is not a democratic govt. It is unfortunate. Let the notice reach us. We will act on it after holding discussions," Tiwari told ANI.

The Akbar Road bungalow served as the Congress party's headquarters 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, with party activities still taking place there.

Jairam Ramesh slams govt over women's reservation bill

Meanwhile, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh launched a sharp attack on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government over its plan to amend the Nari Shakti Vandan Act, accusing it of making a "U-turn" and using women's reservation as a "Weapons of Mass Diversion", aimed at deflecting attention from pressing national issues such as the PM's foreign policy setbacks and the ongoing LPG and energy crises amid escalating West Asia crisis.

In a post shared on X, Ramesh recalled that the Nari Shakti Vandan Act, 2023--which guarantees one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies--was originally tied to the completion of a fresh census and delimitation exercise. "In September 2023, the new Parliament House was inaugurated by the passage of the Nari Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, which amended the Constitution to provide for one-third reservation of women in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas and also provided for one-third reservation for women in seats reserved for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Both these reservations were to become operational after the delimitation and census exercises were completed," he wrote. (ANI)

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