Budget session of Haryana Vidhan Sabha: Congress tears into govt’s development claims

Chandigarh Congress legislators tore into the claims of developmental works of the ruling BJP-JJP coalition government at the onset of the discussion on the governor’s address in the budget session of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha on Monday. Arguments and counterarguments remained the order of the day. Congress MLA BB Batra interrupted BJP legislator Abhe Singh Yadav’s remarks on the government’s development works, with the comment that his information was ‘not completely factual’.

This triggered protest from the treasury benches with power minister Ranjit Singh, Ghanshyam Arora, Mahipal Dhanda and Jogi Ram Sihag saying that Yadav’s statements were based on facts and that he had not gone into the nitty-gritty to save time for other members to speak.

After a while, it was the BJP’s turn to interrupt. Heated arguments started after Congress MLA Rao Dan Singh, while speaking on the govenor’s address, said, “Contrary to the government’s claim, there is nothing on the ground. All roads, metro, rail-lines, universities, colleges and other works mentioned as government’s achievements in actuality were started by the Congress.”

Even as the Congress section of the House thumped their benches at this, education minister Kanwar Pal and other BJP MLAs including Yadav countered this instantly and aggressively. Aseem Goyal and Mahipal Dhanda countered MLA Rao Dan Singh when he flayed the government’s excise policy.

With the arguments nearly taking the shape of a ruckus, leader of opposition and former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda sought Speaker Gian Chand Gupta’s intervention to stop the members from speaking while sitting from their seats. He was joined by other Congress MLAs, Kiran Choudhry, Shamsher Singh Gogi and Mohammad Ilyas.

At this point, home minister Anil Vij also joined the treasury benches’ protest and said that Yadav was only trying to reply as his name was mentioned in Rao Dan Singh’s remarks.

The House again witnessed uproar when another Congress MLA Jagbir Malik said the governor’s address lacked the government’s vision and it did not have anything on the employment and increasing corruption in the system. Malik cited reported irregularities in the power sector and paddy purchase in support of his claim. On this, several BJP MLAs countered Malik’s remarks and highlighted improvements, which they claimed was unlike the Congress rule.

Another Congress MLA Varun Chaudhry also cornered the government on unemployment, diminishing forest cover and unavailability of irrigation water at the tail-end. In his address, BJP’s Yadav had sought that the farmers’ commission must have more members with the scientists and marketing experts on board. He also underlined the need to have more effective approach to tackle the issue of falling water table.