CM Manohar Lal Khattar goes patriotic, sings song at ‘chintan shivir’

CHANDIGARH: In a bid to infuse nationalistic fervour among participants during the second day of the 'chintan shivir' at Parwanoo in Himachal Pradesh on Friday evening, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar sang a patriotic song with his party MLAs joining him. Apart from this, comedian Sunil Grover also added some light moments to the serious deliberations as Haryana Governance Reforms Authority (HGRA) chairperson Pramod Kumar stressed on people-friendly administration.

On Friday evening, the bureaucrats, who included additional chief secretaries (ACS) Ram Niwas, R R Jowel and Vijay Vardhan, sang ghazals and old melodies. Another ACS Sumita Misra Singh recited a few lines from her recently-released poetry books. On Saturday evening, both babus and MLAs enjoyed the jokes of Sunil aka 'Guthi'. It was followed by a cultural presentation by regional folk singers as well.

Meanwhile, the cultural programmes invited the ire of the opposition parties, which termed the three-day event as 'mockery of democracy and governance'. "This government never had anything called system and governance. This is not 'chintan' (introspection) but a mockery of the institution of democracy and governance. The government has simply left the state in the hands of God for three days," said Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Ashok Tanwar.

Joining Tanwar, Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Kiran Choudhry accused Khattar and his ministers of resorting to 'pleasing babus' antics. She said, "During the three days Khattar and his ministers are trying to please the babus. This will make the situation from bad to worse as the official machinery has already gone out of control."

Leader of Opposition Abhay Chautala of the INLD also termed the government as insensitive. "What stopped them from doing the introspection of their work over the past three years? This is unfortunate that neither the officialdom nor the ministers and the CM seem concerned about the residents of the state. Common man is forced to live in a state of fear whereas the CM, ministers and officials are entertaining themselves," he said in Rohtak on Saturday.

Open to good suggestions

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday stressed on the need to strengthen the feeling of ownership and belongingness among residents in an effort to hasten progress, development and growth in the state. "We are open to good suggestions in this regard and, if given, these would be considered in public interest," he said while addressing Haryana ministers, his party MLAs and officers attending the 'chintan shivir' at a resort in Parwanoo in Himachal Pradesh. Speaking at an interactive session on the second day of the three-day brainstorming session, he said every person in the society must be honest. "To instil honesty in the people, the state government has adopted zero-tolerance policy against corruption," he maintained.