Former Haryana Chief Minister and Leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday said that the State Government should immediately withdraw the new excise policy initiated by the BJP-JPP Government as it would push lakhs of youth into addiction.
He was addressing the Parivartan Rally at Petwad in Narnaund. Hooda said the Government had spent more than 100 days in office but the alliance partners have not yet been able to work out a common minimum programme.
He said the performance of the Government is evaluated on the basis of the steps it is taking to fulfill its pre-poll promises. “Based on what we have seen, we can say that this Government has not taken one single step to fulfill the promises it has made in the election manifesto,” he said.
Hooda launched a full-frontal attack on the Government on their new excise policy. “Our policy was aimed at encouraging sports and making our youth world champions on the sports field. Their policy is to push the youth of the state into addiction and the new policy is a recipe of disaster. We have already seen what has happened in Punjab, they are pushing Haryana in the same direction,” Hooda said.
Taking on the government on the issue of farmers, he said the government has worked towards increasing the input costs of farmers and not their profits. “The government is pushing our farmers in debt as the government has increased rates on agricultural inputs and has increased taxes on them and the increase in the prices of wheat and paddy has been minimal. We had brought a historic increase of Rs 193 in the rates of sugarcane while this government has only increased it by Rs 20 to 30,” he said, adding that the paddy scam has demonstrated that the government has not given the farmers their rights but has conned them through scams and corruption.