Manohar Lal Khattar during the rally at Dabwali in Sirsa Saturday. Express Photo
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar Saturday held a rally in the stronghold of former CM Om Prakash Chautala in Sirsa district. Chautala’s nephew and BJP member Aditya Devi Lal was coordinator of the rally, which was held at Dabwali. Aditya, who had defeated leader of Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala’s wife in Zila Parishad polls in 2016, described the CM as “a real well-wisher of the farming community who has taken several decisions in the interest of farmers”. In the Assembly, Ajay Singh Chautala’s wife Naina Singh Chautala is representing Dabwali constituency. Ajay is elder brother of Abhay.
Adiya and his younger brother Anirudh had joined BJP ahead of 2014 Assembly polls. They are sons of late Jagdish Chander, who was youngest among four sons of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal. While addressing the “Jiye Jawan Jiye Kisan” rally today, Khattar reiterated “the resolve of the state government to get its legitimate share of river waters through the Sutlej Yamuna Link (Canal)” and said that until the state got its rightful share, equitable water supply would be ensured right up to the tail-ends through canal water to strengthen the irrigation system in the state.
An irrigation project costing Rs 112 crore would be implemented in a phased manner to make available water in tail-end villages of Sirsa district, the CM announced. “The first phase of the project would start with remodelling of the Bhakhra Main Branch (BMB) and about 30 villages of the district would directly benefit from this project. Sufficient irrigation water would be made available to the farmers in the district.”
Launching a scathing attack on the Opposition parties “for describing BJP as an inexperienced party”, Khattar said, “During the last about four years, it has been proved that we are running a better government than them. We have been able to keep a tab on corruption and works which (on an average) were undertaken at a cost of Rs 100 crore earlier are now being done for Rs 85 crore.”
The CM said that after taking the reins of the state government in 2014, “we have changed the rule of kharchi and parchi (money and approach) by eliminating the system of corruption, middlemen and hooliganism”.
Addressing the rally, Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala said, “It was for the first time in the last 25 years that water has reached the tail-ends in Loharu (Bhiwani) and Mahendergarh” in southern Haryana. He urged the people to remain vigilant from those leaders “who are trying to take political mileage in the name of farmers but did nothing for them”.