Hooda accuses Haryana govt of evading questions on issues raised by Congress

Former Haryana chief minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday accused the Nayab Singh Saini government of evading questions on several issues raised by the Congress during the Monsoon session of the state Assembly.

Hooda, who was accompanied by several Congress MLAs, said the BJP government avoided discussions on issues raised by the opposition during the session, which concluded on Tuesday.

He said the Congress had moved an adjournment motion seeking discussion on an alleged multi-crore bank scam in Haryana, but it was rejected because the government did not want the matter debated in the House.

Hooda also alleged that the government failed to give a satisfactory response on the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN) and on the alleged mistreatment of Congress MLAs outside the Assembly complex on August 27.

The Congress has demanded that all workers recruited through HKRN, which supplies contractual manpower to government departments, be regularised and that future recruitment be done on a regular basis.

Hooda said the government's claim of providing job security through HKRN was misleading and alleged that several workers had approached him after their contracts were terminated.

“They claim they are giving a job guarantee, but they have made educated youth daily wagers,” he said, claiming that some workers were informed about termination through WhatsApp messages.

On the August 27 incident, Congress has alleged that party MLAs were manhandled by security personnel outside the Assembly complex. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had on Tuesday accused some Congress MLAs of manhandling security personnel and said Hooda was also involved.

Hooda rejected the allegation and said the Congress had demanded that a House committee examine the entire incident and that video footage be reviewed. “I even said that let them register an FIR against me if they think I have done anything wrong,” he said.

The former chief minister also raised the issue of sanitation workers who have been on strike for nearly a month, alleging that the government had failed to address their demand for regularisation.

Hooda further alleged that Congress MLA Geeta Bhukkal was targeted during a discussion on programmes marking the 650th birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas. He claimed she was targeted because she is a Dalit. Bhukkal had said she quoted a couplet by Guru Ravidas after BJP MLA Ram Kumar Gautam made a remark against Hooda.

Congress MLA B B Batra questioned the admission of a privilege motion moved against Congress MLA Induraj Narwal, arguing that Narwal had only removed a poster from another legislator's hand because displaying posters was not permitted in the House.

Hooda also questioned the BJP government's claims of merit-based recruitment, alleging irregularities in several recruitments and asking how many paper leak incidents had taken place in the state.

He raised concerns over Haryana's debt and its ranking in the NITI Aayog Fiscal Health Index. Hooda claimed the state's debt had risen to more than Rs 5.5 lakh crore from around Rs 70,000 crore in 2014.

He also alleged that corruption was widespread and said only lower-level officials were being caught while senior officials escaped action.

Hooda further claimed that private hospitals in Haryana were awaiting payments of around Rs 1,200 crore for Ayushman Bharat claims that had remained pending for months.

The Haryana government did not immediately respond to Hooda's allegations.