Oppn to put CM on mat over govt performance

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 1

The 11 people who lost their lives in the Mahendergarh wall collapse incident; Jat reservation; regularisation of guest teachers; farmers’ issues especially damage to crop due to whitefly, and the CM’s recent foreign trip — the state BJP government will be answerable on a number of issues, when the Haryana Assembly meets for the monsoon session tomorrow.

With the Opposition all set to take on the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government, the session is likely to be limited to three days and is bound to be a stormy affair.

Leader of Opposition Abhay Chautala said the INLD in the first session in March, had chosen to give time to the government to fulfil its promises. “However, it’s nearly a year and there is nothing the government seems to be doing. The crime rate has risen, as is the crime against women. The farmers still haven’t got compensation for crop loss due to unseasonal rain and thunderstorms. The guest teachers and computer teachers are protesting. The employees are protesting. The government, in its one year, seems to have failed the public,” he said.

The party MLAs have submitted calling attention motions on the whitefly attack on cotton and Jat reservation. Leaders maintain the INLD, so far considered the “B-team” of the BJP, is likely to take on the government in this session with renewed aggression.

“The CM’s foreign jaunt, the outcome of the money being liberally spent on the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ programme with absolutely no results, the hike in power tariff and the short Assembly Session are all issues that will be taken up. However, the three-day session the government is proposing seems inadequate to deal with everything,” Chautala added.

Meanwhile, the Congress which seemed the only Opposition in the 90-member House during the budget session is set to put the government on the mat about the CM’s foreign visit, the increase in cost of power as also the deaths in a wall collapse in Mahendergarh. “We want a detailed inquiry into the stone crushers being run. They belong to BJP leaders which is why the government want to hush up the matter. The government needs to explain why it was desperate to impose academic qualifications for candidates wanting to contest panchayat election. I have given at least 10 calling attention motions and it seems humanly impossible to deal with them in a short span of three days. This is a sham. We want a longer sitting,” CLP leader Kiran Choudhry said.

Hooda, Choudhry to hold separate meetings 

While the CLP meeting is slated to be held in Kiran Choudhry's house, sources said former Chief Minister and MLA Bhupinder Singh Hooda will hold a separate meeting for all MLAs in Karnal at MLA Kuldeep Sharma's house; 14 of the 15 MLAs owe allegiance to Hooda. After the meeting, the MLAs will go to Choudhry's house together as a show of strength.

Cong to raise public interest issues: Hooda

Karnal: Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said on Tuesday the Congress would raise public interest issues in the monsoon session of the Assembly. Interacting with the media here, Hooda lashed out at the government, saying that it had failed to fulfil its poll promises. No section of society was happy with the government, he alleged. The CM city had become a protest city. Guest teachers, employees of various departments, farmers, students and others are on the road in support of their demands, Hooda added. Taking a dig at the government over the short session, the former CM said it should have been longer instead of two or three days. Hooda said people had not been getting their old age pension for the past three months.  — TNS

Oppositionspeak

Govt ‘failed’ the public 

}During the Budget session, the INLD gave time to the government to fulfil its promises. It’s been nearly a year and there is nothing the government seems to be doing. The crime rate has risen, farmers still haven’t got relief. —Abhay Chautala, leader of opposition

Short session a ‘sham’ 

}We want an inquiry into stone crushers being run. They belong to BJP leaders which is why the government want to hush up the matter. I have given at least 10 calling attention motions and it is impossible to deal with them in three days. —Kiran Choudhry, clp leader