Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda will now have to pay penal market rent to keep living in the official residence of the Leader of the Opposition. Reason: The Congress High Command has still not appointed him as the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) Leader despite it being three months since the Haryana Assembly elections.
Though he has still not been named the CLP leader, who will also be the Leader of the Opposition, Hooda continues to occupy the official residence, Bungalow 70 at Chandigarh's Sector 7.
The uncertainty has prompted the Haryana Government to start levying penal market rent on the residence and a penalty of over ₹2 lakh has already been imposed for non-vacation of the premises, according to The Indian Express. The report also quoted Congress sources who said they are yet to receive any "official notice of the penal rent" but were aware of the market penal rent that would apply for failing to vacate government accommodation.
The report added that Hooda has been staying in the house in his capacity as the LoP from 2019 to 2024.
Though the current BJP industries minister Vipul Goel wanted the residence, he had to make do with Bungalow 71 since Hooda didn't want to vacate it.
The situation also is indicative of Congress's high command's reluctance to appoint him as the CLP leader despite being a strong contender for the post. The leadership is deterred by the fact that the Congress party faced the elections with Hooda at the helm and faced a bitter defeat despite predictions that the BJP would bite the dust. The High Command had earlier said it was planning to carry out structural changes in the party unit after the loss.
Hooda is facing stiff competition from Kumari Selja, who is also vying for the post. There were reports that Selja was trying to convince the leadership that letting Hooda continue would be a recipe for disaster. She had also raised the names of leaders like Chander Mohan, a known Hooda detractor, for the post.
However, 30 out of 37 Congress MLAs still prefer Hooda. Only six align with the opposite faction.
Speculations are that the official announcement from the High Command for the post of Leader of Opposition will come only after the Delhi Assembly Elections, slated to be held next month.
