Congress Faces Eviction from Akbar Road Headquarters

New Delhi's Indian National Congress party has received final eviction notices from the government's Estate Department, directing it to vacate its longstanding national headquarters at 24 Akbar Road and the Indian Youth Congress office at 5 Raisina Road by March 28.

The notices, delivered a few days ago, mark the latest development in a long-standing dispute over the party's use of government-allotted properties in the prestigious Lutyens' Delhi area. The Akbar Road bungalow has served as the Congress headquarters since 1978, when the party, then led by Indira Gandhi, relocated there following its electoral defeat after the Emergency period. The site was initially offered as a temporary arrangement by then-Member of Parliament Gaddam Venkatswamy, who provided his official residence to the party amid internal splits and a lack of office space. Over the decades, it became a central hub for the party's operations and a symbol of its political legacy in the capital.

Although the Congress shifted its primary activities to a new headquarters at Indira Bhavan on Kotla Road near ITO last year, the Akbar Road premises remain in use for ongoing party functions. Party officials have noted...