CHANDIGARH: Former Vice President of India, 74-year-old Jagdeep Dhankhar, has shifted to a farmhouse owned by prominent Jat leader and senior Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Abhay Chautala in the Gadaipur area of Chhatarpur in South Delhi.
Dhankhar, who has largely stayed out of the public eye since resigning as Vice President on July 21, vacated the official residence near the Parliament House Complex, where he had been staying since April last year, as the vice-presidential elections draw closer on September 9.
He has now shifted to Chautala’s farmhouse in Gadaipur DLF Farms, Chhatarpur Enclave, in the national capital. While many of his belongings have been moved there, several household items remain stored in a flat inside the Vice President’s official residence, sources said.
Sources close to Chautala said Dhankhar can stay at the farmhouse as long as he wishes, since the Chautala family has close ties with him. He will likely remain there until alternative arrangements are made or he gets a Type-VIII official residence, which he is entitled to as a former Vice President. “Dhankhar did not ask Chautala for a house; it was offered to him,” an insider said.
It is learnt that on Tuesday morning, Dhankhar went for a dental appointment at the Army’s Research and Referral Hospital in Dhaula Kuan.
Sources said the process for Dhankhar to start receiving his pension was initiated last week. He had earlier served as an MLA from the Kishangarh assembly seat in Rajasthan between 1993 and 1998 and received a pension until July 2019, which was discontinued after he was appointed Governor of West Bengal, after which he was elected Vice President in 2022. The pension will now be applicable from the date his resignation as Vice President was accepted, making him entitled to Rs 42,000 per month as a former legislator.