Congress general secretary and incharge of party affairs in Haryana Shakeel Ahmed and State Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday raised several questions on the ‘development model’ of Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narender Modi.
While addressing party workers at a seminar on Food Security Bill here, Shakeel said that RBI’s recent report on the development of 28 States across the country has put Haryana State on seventh rank as compared to Modi’s Gujarat which is ranked at 12. Other BJP-ruled States including Chhattisgarh ranked at 25 and MP at 26, he added.
“After such statistics, I think Modi should learn the techniques of development from Bhupinder Singh Hooda who has brought the State at seventh number. Modi should take Hooda to Gujarat to learn something,” suggested Shakeel. He also said that even the CAG’s recent report on Gujarat’s malnutrition, is raising questions on Modi’s development method. Shakeel said BJP only knew about its ‘feel good factor’ but Congress focused on development, hence BJP had lost assembly elections at Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh recently and its senior leaders in Karnataka were behind bars.
During the seminar, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said he was not aware as to which model people refer, but when he checked the parameters then the monthly Samman Pension being given to freedom fighters in Gujarat is Rs 6,000 only whereas it was Rs 20,000 in Haryana. He said that if Gujarat model was implemented here, the old age pension being given to 81 per cent senior citizens would have to be reduced to 20 per cent. Apart from this, he had to withdraw the scheme of monthly scholarships ranging between Rs 75 and Rs 600 to students belonging to Schedules Castes families and Backward Classes A up to Class XII, because there was no such scheme in Gujarat.
Hooda also announced that Congress would organise a mammoth rally at Gohana on November 10. All the senior leaders of Congress during their address at the seminar, focused on the effective implementation of Food security Bill in the State. Randeep Surjewala, Industry Minister, suggested that party should constitute district level committees to make aware common man about its benefits.
The State Chief Minister also boasted that keeping in view Congress’ people friendly policies, the party would get all the 10 seats of the State in lok Sabha elections 2014. Though Hooda’s rival group Union Minister Kumari Selja, Birender Singh and others except Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh attended the seminar but they were not allowed to speak at the seminar. While talking to media persons, Kumari Selja said that she was not aware of the issue to be discussed at the seminar. Nobody told me about it, added Selja.
The official website of State Congress was also launched on the occasion. All the current and former MPs, MlAs, presidents of AICC in Haryana, DCC, PCC and blocks level committees were present during the seminar.