Henious, but just an isolated case: Hooda

Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday held that albeit the revelations of shelter home "Apna Ghar" at Rohtak were shocking and heinous, the same was an isolated and stray incident.

Insisting that it was for a fair probe into the case that the state government had sought a CBI investigation, Hooda held that he would ensure that all the guilty are brought to books and given exemplary punishment. "I can assure you, no one is being favoured, shielded or protected," he maintained.

About other cases exposing deteriorating law and order situation in the state, Hooda said that these too were stray incidents reflecting the societal ``changes’’ and not that of organized crimes. "One should recall how the crimes were committed in an organized manner and criminals, protected by previous Indian National Lok Dal regime led by Om Prakash Chautala," he said.

To the question of Khap diktats, Hooda held that these in Haryana were not less than any social organizations. Maintaining that the concept of khaps functioning had largely been misunderstood or not understood at all in several quarters, Hooda said that it was a khap which brought a school at Rohtak in 1912 when there was only one school at Delhi and the only other in Lahore. "No khap has ever espoused any killing or violent action against any one in Haryana and their fiats have always been on the basis of social values," he said.

Hooda also maintained that it was during the past seven years of his government that all the parts of the state had seen unprecedented progress on all fronts, especially the education and that too especially girl education. "One would see the positive results in times to come," he added.

Chander Mohan, TMC no patch on Cong

To another question on the former Congress deputy chief minister Chander Mohan recently joining his younger brother’s Haryana Janhit Congress, Hooda held that he doubted if he would be able to win even a panchayat seat. "When his father Bhajan Lal, who was a seasoned politician and twice chief minister, and his son Kuldeep Bishnoi left Congress to launch HJC could win only one Parliamentary and an assembly seat, what does one see their and their party’s future as ?" Hooda asked. To the question of some of his own loyalists joining Trinamool Congress in Haryana, he said that they probably shifted their loyalties "on some packages". "I or my party do not offer any packages, hence their own wish", he quipped and added that the persons named above were no patch on Congress.