Congress Set To Move To New Headquarters In Delhi, Finds 'Way' To Avoid Deen Dayal Upadhyay's Name In Address

Congress is set to move to its new headquarters (HQ) in the national capital Delhi on 15 January. The new building is named as Indira Gandhi Bhawan, after former Prime Minister (PM) and grandmother of Rahul Gandhi.

This means that the address of the Congress HQ will change from 24, Akbar Road to 9 A, Kotla Road. This comes 15 years after the foundation stone for new building was laid by former PM Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi.

Interestingly, the land parcel on which the building is built, lies on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg but to avoid the name of Bharatiya Jan Sangh, predecessor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), leader, the party made building's entrance through Kotla road.

The six-storey building will be inaugurated by Sonia Gandhi, where she will be accompanied by Congress president and Rajya Sabha leader of the opposition (LoP), Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi.

Around 400 senior leaders from the party across India are anticipated to participate in the event. Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal announced the inauguration of the new headquarters on Tuesday (7 January).

"It is time for us to move ahead with the times and embrace the new. Situated at 9 A, Kotla Road, New Delhi, the Indira Gandhi Bhawan is designed to meet the evolving needs of the party and its leaders, featuring modern facilities to support administrative, organisational, and strategic activities," he said.

"This iconic building reflects the Congress party’s forward-looking vision while paying homage to its extraordinary past, which has shaped the political and social fabric of India," Venugopal added.

However, the Akbar Road bungalow will also be "kept for high-profile meetings," as per a senior Congress leader quoted by Indian Express. The shifting will take place "in a phased manner and may take a couple of months."