Setting the tone for the Congress campaign ahead of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections due in Haryana in 2019, State Congress chief Ashok Tanwar, who is touring constituencies on a bicycle, hit out at the ruling BJP on Sunday, accusing it of destroying the social fabric of the State in the name of ‘Gau, Gita, Gayatri’.
“The BJP is diverting the attention of the people from key issues such as unemployment, price rise, corruption and the deteriorating law and order situation. The Manohar Lal Khattar-led government is involved in loot and jhoot (lies) in the name of ‘Gau, Gita and Gayatri’ and destroying the cohesive social fabric of the State,” said Mr. Tanwar, as he concluded the first phase of the “Haryana Bachao-Parivartan Lao” cycle rally at Pehowa in Kurukshetra.
He was referring to the government’s cow protection policies and the inclusion of Gita shlokas in school syllabus. The State government is also planning to include Gayatri mantra in morning prayers in schools.
Mr. Tanwar criticised the Haryana government for allegedly wasting ₹260 crore on the revival of the “Saraswati river”. “The BJP is betraying the confidence of Haryanavis and wasting their hard-earned money on frivolous schemes. The BJP and the Indian National Lok Dal are misleading the people of Haryana on the the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Cana issue as well,” he said, accusing the INLD of playing like a ‘B’ team of the BJP.
‘No law and order’
Accusing the government of failing to maintain law and order in the State, Mr. Tanwar said while the BJP had given the slogan “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao”, on the ground, atrocities on women were going on unabated.
“The rise in the number of rape cases in Haryana is a glaring example of the worsening law and order situation,” said Mr. Tanwar, adding that a wave of change in governance was clearly visible in Haryana.
Party spokesperson Kuldeep Soni said the cycle yatra, which started on March 18 from Kalka, had covered 14 Vidhan Sabha constituencies falling in the four districts of Panchkula, Ambala, Yamunanagar and Kurukshetra.
At Shahbad in Kurukshetra, senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala launched a scathing attack on the BJP leadership for its “failure to honour its pre-poll promises” to youth, farmers and all sections of society.
Addressing the ‘Badlaav rally’, Mr. Surjewala said the rally was not being organised to achieve power or electoral victory, the objective was to restore people’s due rights.
