New Delhi: Even as Jyotiraditya Scindia was offered three bungalows since his appointment as a cabinet minister in the Narendra Modi government, the former opted to wait. Scindia had expressed his desire to get back to his "old home"- 27 Safdarjung Road where he had spent his childhood. The bungalow, near Safdarjung Tomb in Lutyens Delhi-was home to the Scindias for the last four decades. The junior Scindia had occupied the bungalow till 2019 when he vacated it after losing the general election in Guna as a Congress candidate.
After Scindia switched to the BJP last year, he was given the option of at least three bungalows. But he chose to live in his private residence at Anand Lok. He wanted to return to the bungalow where his father late Madhavrao Scindia had spent 40-years since the 1980's when he had joined the Rajiv Gandhi Ministry. The Scindias used to entertain their guests in the 'durbar' at 27 Safdarjung Road. For junior Scindia, this bungalow holds a special place as it was here that his father bid him final adieu.
Till recently, this bungalow was allotted to former education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. As per the Directorate of Estates rule book, Type VIII bungalows, which have seven rooms with quarters for domestic help, can be allotted to serving Ministers, judicial authorities and Rajya Sabha MPs. The rule book also states that after a minister is divested of his charge, he can live in the bungalow for a month, but has to vacate it after he is allotted an alternate accommodation as a member.
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