Congress Bids Farewell To 24 Akbar Road As Party Moves Into New Headquarters

New Delhi: Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday inaugurated the party’s new headquarters located at 9A, Kotla Road.

With this, the principal opposition party bid farewell to the iconic 24 Akbar Road, from where Congress used to operate for the last 47 years. 

The new AICC headquarters will be known as Indira Gandhi Bhawan. Its construction was started during the tenure of Sonia Gandhi as AICC chief. 

"It is time for us to move ahead with the times and embrace the new," AICC general secretary (Organisation), Venugopal said.

The new headquarters, a plush five-storey building, contains a library, which has been named after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who passed away last month. 

24 Akbar Road: Home To Aung San Suu Kyi

The Akbar Road bungalow once housed Sir Reginald Maxwell, who was a member of Viceroy Lord Linlithgow's executive council. It was also home to former State Counsellor of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi in 1961, who spent her childhood here when her mother was appointed ambassador to India.

According to sources, the party will not vacate the 24, Akbar Road office, which has been its headquarters since 1978 after the Congress (I) was formed, and it will continue to house some of its cells.