Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee got his bungalow number changed from 8 to 6-A, Krishna Menon Marg, as the number 8 was considered unlucky, a response to an RTI query reveals.
RTI activist Subhash Agrawal wanted to know under what rules the bungalow number was changed.
In a letter (D.O. No. 652/ASA/G/04) dated May 19, 2004, Ashok Saikia, the then additional secretary at Prime Minister's Office (PMO), had written to Anupam Dasgupta, additional secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, urging him to change the bungalow number from 8 to 6-A, Krishna Menon Marg prior to its allotment to the prime minister after he demits office.
"We have been advised that it would be more appropriate that Bungalow No.8, Krishna Menon Marg is re-numbered as 6-A prior to its allotment to the Prime Minister after he demits office," Saikia said in the letter.
After NDA lost the elections in 2004, Vajpayee as caretaker prime minister, asked his office to request the Urban Development ministry to re-number his bungalow.
The earlier request was to change the number from 8 to lucky 7-A. But since the bungalows were even and odd numbered on both sides of Krishna Menon Marg, 6-A was ultimately chosen.
The RTI response also confirms that there are no rules and guidelines for such arbitrary change of government bungalows for personal choice of occupants.
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