JOIN USFormer Haryana Chief Minister M Bhupinder Singh Hooda was on Tuesday granted bail by a CBI court in Panchkula, near here, in connection with the alleged Rs 1,500 crore Manesar land scam.
Congress leader Hooda later said the case against him was political vendetta by the incumbent BJP government. “I will fight the legal battle in court and the political battle on the streets to expose the real face of the ruling government,” he said.
The court has fixed May 31 as the next date of hearing. In 2004, the then Congress government led by Hooda had issued a notification for acquiring land in Manesar and two other villages. Many farmers sold their land at low prices to private builders under the threat of acquisition by Hooda government. Some years later, the government issued a directive to revoke the acquisition notification, which resulted in windfall gains to the beneficiaries.
The apex court had set aside the 2004 notification to acquire 912 acres in the three villages. Hooda’s former principal secretaries M L Tayal and Chattar Singh and former senior IAS officer S S Dhillon, among others, were made accused in the case. They are all out on bail. Hooda did not appear in the previous court hearing citing health reasons.