Shah targets Hooda, says he was serving ‘Delhi ka damaad’

BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday hit out at former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, alleging that he obliged Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra “to the fullest of his potential”.

Shah was in Jind for BJP’s ‘Gaurav rally’ organised by Union minister of steel Birender Singh. Two years ago, Birender had joined the BJP after quitting the Congress in the presence of Shah in this district only.

“Hooda left no stone unturned in looting Haryana residents to fill the pockets of his family members and Delhi’s son-in-law (Vadra). Now that his scams are coming out in inquiries, he is crying foul,” Shah said.

Lashing out at the previous UPA government at the Centre, he said, “Scams worth `12 lakh crore were reported during the UPA government. On the contrary, there has been no corruption under the Modi government during the past two-and-a-half years,” he added.

Lashing out at three ‘Lals’ of Haryana — Bansi Lal, Bhajan Lal and Devi Lal— Shah said chief minister Manohar ‘Lal’ (Khattar) was different from them and praised him for pledging to make Haryana kerosene-free and improving the sex ratio of the state from 837 to 914.

“Haryana is a land of brave hearts. It gave hope to the country in the form of Sakshi Malik at Rio. With BJP’s policies, there will be lots of Sakshis by next Olympic Games,” Shah said.

“It has been decided to give Rs 30,000 crore additional funds to the Haryana under the 14th Finance Commission as compared to 13th,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Khattar also attacked Hooda, alleging rampant corruption during his tenure. “Earlier CMs worked only for their constituencies and castes. But, I have ensured to ensure equal development all over Haryana,” he said.

The CM also lashed out at Jat leader Yashpal Malik without naming him. “We will not let anyone damage the unity of Haryana, whether he’s from the state or has come from outside,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Khattar and union minister of road and transport Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone of `380 crore Government Medical College at Haibatpur village in Jind.

They also performed Bhoomi Pujan ceremony for 4-laning of the Punjab-Haryana border-Jind section of NH-7. Gadkari also announced an express highway, a Rs 20,000 crore project, from Delhi to Srinagar via Jind-Ludhiana-Amritsar-Katra.

Shah shown black flags by JBT teachers

Meanwhile, junior basic training (JBT) teachers on Sunday showed black flags Shah the moment he came to the podium to give his address. They raised slogans against the government. The teachers have been holding protests for long, demanding joining letters from the Haryana education department. Due to a pending inquiry, these teachers selected in 2013 have not been given joining letters by the government so far.

On Sunday, they had reportedly come fully prepared to create ruckus at the BJP rally. The police, which said they had intelligence inputs about teachers coming to protest at the venue of the rally, detained five teachers, while some others sneaked in the pandal with black clothes to raise their protest. The police rushed to stop woman protesters and tried to shut their mouths and dragged them outside the tent.

Jind superintendent of police (SP) Shashank Anand said the protesters were being questioned about their intentions.

Regarding the failure of the police to prevent teachers from reaching the venue of the rally, he said, “The protesters had black clothes smaller than handkerchiefs which they managed to sneak in. The police seized dozens of knives, blades, fire crackers and sharp-edged items from the public coming in to attend the rally.”