Haryana Cabinet defers waiver of penal rent for Bhupinder Hooda's Chandigarh house
The Congress leader has been residing in the government bungalow since October 2024, with penal rent outstanding for nearly a year
After the bitterly contested Rajya Sabha elections, which ended in defeat for the BJP-backed Independent candidate, the Haryana Cabinet on Tuesday deferred a decision on the waiver of the penal rent for Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s house in Sector 7, Chandigarh.
The proposal was brought up for discussion in the first Cabinet meeting following the Rajya Sabha election. The penal rent exceeds Rs 16 lakh.
When asked after the Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini did not give a specific reason for deferring the agenda but stated that the Cabinet has the authority to delay items. He mentioned that the matter was raised after Hooda requested a waiver.
Notably, in the March 16 Rajya Sabha elections, Congress candidate Karamvir Singh Boudh won despite five Congress MLAs cross-voting for Independent candidate Satish Nandal, with four votes subsequently invalidated.
BJP had been supporting Nandal. Hooda had then accused the BJP of horse-trading, calling it “vote-chori.”
Hooda has been residing in the government bungalow meant for the Leader of the Opposition since the state Assembly election results were declared in October 2024, though he was officially appointed to the post in September 2025. The penal rent had been outstanding for close to a year, and he was entitled to only a flat during the intervening period.
When contacted, Hooda told The Tribune, “When there was no Leader of the Opposition of the state, at that time, I had requested the extension of stay in the house. It is a small matter.”
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda on Monday alleged that the BJP government had been trying to waive off the penal rent of Hooda’s house in return for the favour he gave the saffron party during the Rajya Sabha elections.
