Meira Kumar says bungalow given to foundation, not to her

Upset over the controversy surrounding the allocation of a second bungalow, Speaker Meira Kumar has defended the government's decision saying it had been allocated to a memorial foundation in honour of her father and not in her name.NDTV reported that Kumar's office had issued a statement calling previous reports on the matter 'factually incorrect, highly mischievous and defamatory'and said the property had been allocated to the trust in her father's name and not to her.The Congress leader's office also claimed that the controversy was aimed at maligning her reputation.

The central government departments which allocated the bungalow have also defended the decision saying that the bungalow was unoccupied and therefore allocated to the foundation created to honour Jagjivan Ram's memory.Jagjivan Ram, a veteran Congress leader, had lived in the house till his demise and was subsequently occupied by Kumar until she moved to the official residence of the speaker.However, despite moving out, Kumar still held onto the bungalow while her application seeking the land for a memorial remained under consideration.The central government said that the bungalow was allocated to the trust because there have been no other claimants to the house till date.“No rules have been flouted. The decision to allot the bungalow was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Accommodation,” a senior Urban Development ministry official was quoted as saying in the Hindustan Times report.