Khattar was sad after his removal as Haryana CM, wanted to join Congress: Pawan Khera

Congress senior leader Pawan Khera today alleged that Union Minister of Power and Housing and Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal Khattar, approached the Congress after being removed from the Chief Minister’s post.

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Holding a press conference, Khera, who is the chairman of the media and publicity department of the AICC, said Khattar was very sad after his removal and had sent messages expressing his desire to join, along with some associates. “It couldn’t have materialised. It didn’t materialise… one of our top leaders will reveal the whole story. Let him deny it,” he added.

While criticising the last 10 years of the BJP rule, Khera questioned why, after keeping Manohar Lal Khattar in the CM’s seat for nine and a half years, he was suddenly removed, and why his face was now missing from the posters. The BJP leadership has yet to clarify this, Khera added.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi often covered up India’s poverty to hide it from foreign guests and he did something similar in the case of Khattar. However, covering up Khattar’s failures wouldn’t quell the anger of the people of Haryana this time. “Voters are so furious that when they press the EVM button, there is a real danger that the machines may break down,” he said.

Khera denied the allegations of internal discord within the Congress. He acknowledged that some individuals might be upset but stressed misunderstandings were common in any family and that the party was united for the upcoming elections.

When asked about Kumari Selja’s reported displeasure, Khera said she herself had dismissed these claims, while the BJP was exploiting the issue for petty political gain. He pointed out that everyone was aware of how the BJP had disrespected its senior leaders.

He also claimed that Khattar was allegedly working to defeat his own party’s candidates. “We know who is conspiring there to defeat each other. A senior leader of the BJP was in touch until the announcement of the last list of tickets, but it didn’t materialise.”

When questioned about the BJP portraying the Selja issue as an insult to Dalits, Khera responded that if Dalits had faced the most atrocities, it had been during the BJP rule. He added that the BJP had appointed only one Dalit president in its history, and even he was removed in a humiliating manner, whereas the Congress has appointed four Dalit presidents.

On reservations, Khera said the Congress had never opposed reservations and never would. He reiterated that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has clearly stated that as long as inequality existed, reservations would continue.