New Delhi: Haryana has been seeing “rip-off after rip-off” ever because the Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) got here to energy 9 years in the past, former chief minister and chief of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda has stated — remarks that come earlier than parliamentary and meeting elections in Haryana subsequent yr.
In an interview with ThePrint, Hooda, a Jat strongman who had been the chief minister from 2005 and 2014, stated that when he left his place 9 years in the past, issues had been totally different.
“Haryana had been primary in per capita earnings, per capita funding, employment technology, and sports activities. We had legislation and order the place folks felt secure. Farmers received remunerative costs,” the senior Congress chief stated. “However now, in these 9 years, folks have been seeing rip-off after rip-off. We noticed liquor scams, mining scams, registry scams, paper leak scams, paddy procurement scams (in 2020), recruitment scams, and plenty of extra. The federal government units up a recent Particular Investigation Crew (SIT) after each rip-off however the studies are by no means made public.”
Chatting with ThePrint at Talkatora Street in New Delhi, the official residence of his son and Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda, the previous chief minister highlighted a variety of matters — from the floods in Yamuna, the state of politics in Haryana and the meeting election subsequent yr to higher remunerative costs that farmers have been demanding.
Hooda blamed final week’s floods in Delhi and close by areas to poor administration by the Haryana authorities — remarks that come at a time when the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP authorities is engaged in a bitter blame recreation with the BJP authorities.
Listed below are excerpts from his interview with ThePrint.
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Haryana elections
The Congress will win most parliamentary seats in Haryana and can type the following authorities after the 2024 meeting election, Hooda stated in his interview.
Haryana has a complete of 10 parliamentary and 90 meeting seats. Whereas the BJP swept all Lok Sabha seats in 2019, the get together received 40 meeting seats the identical yr as in opposition to 31 of the Congress. The Jannayak Janata Celebration (JJP), which had made its electoral debut that yr and is at the moment a part of the ruling alliance within the state, received 10 seats.
The BJP, he stated, swept to energy in 2014 on lofty guarantees. “However now, folks have realised that they (BJP) discuss however they don’t carry out. I’m certain we’re going to win a majority of parliamentary seats from Haryana this time.”
Folks of the state are “fed up” with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his authorities, he stated.
“They (BJP) made lofty guarantees, however later admitted that these had been jumlas (false guarantees). Folks have made up their minds. This time Congress will type the federal government within the state.”
The state that was as soon as “No. 1 in employment is now No.1 in unemployment” ranges, the previous chief minister stated, accusing the BJP governments at each the central and state ranges of “taking part in with the way forward for the youths”.
There are 2 lakh authorities posts mendacity vacant however as a substitute of filling up these, the federal government launched Kaushal Rozgar Nigam — an organisation to recruit contractual employees — in 2021 to nominate youth on a short lived foundation, he stated.
Hooda additionally criticised the controversial Agnipath scheme — the Narendra Modi authorities’s short-term military recruitment scheme for children between 17.5 and 21 years. 1000’s of individuals from Haryana line up for military jobs, he stated, however the coverage implies that troopers will probably be despatched again residence inside 4 years.
Sports activities too has felt the BJP authorities’s apathy, in keeping with him.
Within the 2010 Commonwealth Video games, the gamers from the state received 22 medals out of the whole tally of 38, he stated. “However now, all of the world has seen how badly our sportspeople (learn, wrestlers) have been handled by this authorities.”
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Infighting within the Congress and get together’s CM face
The previous CM additionally addressed studies of infighting inside the Congress senior management within the state. Media studies have repeatedly highlighted power-tussles amongst senior leaders reminiscent of Hooda, former Haryana Congress president Kumari Selja, Tosham MLA and former CLP chief Kiran Choudhary and Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala.
Hooda, nevertheless, dismissed such studies as “media manufactured”, and as a substitute pointed to the fault strains inside the BJP.
“Have you ever ever seen (senior BJP leaders) Rao Inderjit Singh, Chaudhary Birender Singh, Ram Bilas Sharma, and Chief Minister Khattar sharing a stage,” he requested, citing an occasion from 2014 to show his level.
“In 2014 (after elections that yr), I requested a query within the state meeting. The CM was replying, however minister after minister stored interrupting him and attempting to supply their very own reply. When the CM requested Anil Vij to sit down down, the latter refused to obey. The BJP lacks cohesiveness.”
Requested who can be the Congress’s CM face, Hooda stated the get together had a process to determine such issues.
The Congress excessive command, he stated, appoints an observer who places ahead a reputation after talking to the state’s MLAs. “Folks have seen this process being adopted in Karnataka.”
However what occurred in 2005, when he was appointed CM regardless of senior Congress chief Bhajan Lal’s claims of getting extra MLAs in his assist? That wasn’t true, Hooda stated.
“Once I was appointed the CM in 2005, the get together’s observers met all of the MLAs. When (former chief minister ) Bhajan Lal boycotted the CLP assembly sensing defeat, solely 18 out of 67 MLAs accompanied him. And when he ultimately left the Congress, solely 3 MLAs had been with him.”
A miffed Bhajan Lal ultimately left the Congress to begin the Haryana Janhit Congress in 2007.
Yamuna floods
To a question about final week’s floods not solely in Delhi-NCR but in addition components of Haryana, Hooda stated this wasn’t the primary time that such a big quantity of water was launched from Hathni Kund, a concrete barrage situated in Haryana’s Yamunanagar district. Water launched from the flood has been cited as partly being accountable for the Delhi flood.
Twelve of Haryana’s 22 districts have seen flood after heavy rain brought about flashed floods in north India earlier this month. Of those, six — Yamunanagar, Karnal, Panipat, Sonipat, Faridabad, and Palwal — had been flooded due to Yamuna’s rising waters.
In his interview, Hooda stated that in 2006, eight lakh cusecs of water had been launched from the concrete barrage — twice the amount that had been launched this time. However there was no flood then as a result of it was managed higher, he stated.
He additionally blamed the state of affairs on authorities apathy, saying that in a tour of flood-affected districts of the state final week, he discovered that a number of panchayats had petitioned for drains to be cleaned out. “However the (state) authorities paid no heed.”
On MSP
Hooda additionally spoke about implementing higher remunerative costs for farmers — a significant ballot subject within the state. Farmers have been demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan report and giving higher MSP — the minimal worth set by the federal government for sure agricultural merchandise.
Arrange in 2004 by the then Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the eight-member nationwide fee chaired by famend agriculturist Prof. M.S. Swaminathan was mandated to suggest agrarian reforms. The panel submitted 5 studies between December 2004 and October 2006.
In his interview, Hooda, who was requested about Haryana BJP chief O.P. Dhankar’s allegations that his authorities didn’t get the suggestions carried out, stated it was the BJP that had been backpedalling on its promise of doubling farmers’ earnings by 2022.
He was referring to Modi’s promise of making certain that agricultural incomes are doubled by that yr.
In response to him, the earlier UPA authorities had been implementing the Swaminathan report in phases. “One of many suggestions was to make farmers debt-free,” he stated. “On my initiative, the speed of curiosity on farmers’ loans was decreased from 14 % to only 4 % throughout the nation. In Haryana, I ensured that the farmers received loans at zero % curiosity.”
He added that had the BJP authorities carried out the Swaminathan report in its true spirit, the farmers wouldn’t have wanted loans for agricultural actions.
One of many points, in keeping with him, is calculating MSP utilizing the C2 system as a substitute of the A2+FL foundation used now. The A2+FL system that’s used now components in all paid-out enter prices (A2) that farmers incur on seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, employed labour, leased land, gas and irrigation and provides to this unpaid household labour (FL).
Nevertheless, farmers argue that this system means a considerably decrease MSP than what they’ll get whether it is calculated utilizing the C2 system as really useful by the Swaminathan panel. Typically seen as a extra complete system of calculation, the C2 system components in hire and curiosity foregone on land and equipment over and above the A2+FL fee.
Requested why Haryana’s Congress unit didn’t know of senior get together chief Rahul Gandhi’s go to to the state earlier this month, Hooda stated that was simply how the chief functioned.
Rahul had reportedly travelled to a village in Haryana’s Sonipat to talk to farmers there and was even pictured planting paddy with them.
“He (Rahul) likes assembly folks and figuring out their points. He met mechanics, went to paddy fields and even met truck drivers within the USA,” Hooda stated, referring to the US go to in June.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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