BJP’s 100 days in office: A mix of hits and misses
From euphoria to action—that sums up the BJP government’s 100 days in office. While the new BJP government was in celebration mode after its historic hat-trick after the October 5 Assembly poll, the government also got down to work, keeping in view its pre-poll promise of good governance.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini tried to assert his authority, asking the influential bureaucracy to pull up its socks to realise the dream of antyodaya—the welfare of people at the bottom of the pyramid.
Still trying to come out of the shadow of his mentor and former CM, Manohar Lal Khattar, Saini started his second innings as CM on a positive note, with the handing over of appointment letters to over 24,000 youths without ‘kharchi aur parchi' (no cash for jobs).
The government took time to make appointments, especially political, in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO). With a majority of appointees close to Khattar, Saini tried to navigate the administrative challenges, keeping a fine balance between the party high command’s diktats and functioning of the bureaucracy.
However, his main focus was to get bureaucracy to work on the ground to implement various government schemes. From asking district-level officials to make a night halt at villages to asking administrative secretaries to hold regular review meetings, the government tried to project its ‘pro-people’ image.
However, tardy development work continued to be the government’s Achilles’ heel. This prompted it to issue directions to officials to implement the ‘citizen charter’ in different departments in letter and spirit.
Despite claims of transparency in functioning, the MBBS scam in Rohtak rocked the state, providing fodder to the Opposition to target the government.
The law and order situation continued to pose problems for the government, prompting Saini to give a 'free hand' to the state police to ‘eliminate’ gangsters.
'Significant progress'
“During the first 100 days of the current government, several significant steps have been taken for the development of all sectors, including agriculture, education, and health.”
— Nayab Singh Saini, Chief Minister
'Wasted 100 days'
“The BJP’s 100 days in office can best be described as a waste of time. The government has no achievement to its credit as it was still in celebratory mode.”
— Aftab Ahmed, Congress MLA
