Former Haryana Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday hit out at the ruling BJP-JJP alliance government, accusing it of bringing development work to a standstill in the State.
Demanding a White Paper on the ‘worsening’ economic situation in the State, Mr. Hooda said that Haryana’s debt had increased from ₹61,000 crore to ₹1.81 lakh crore under the BJP regime.
“The government has put the State under a mountain of debt. Matters have reached a point where every child born in the State is burdened with a debt of ₹72,000 and the situation is getting worse. We demand that the State government issue a White Paper on the issue,” he said, addressing a press conference here.
Mr. Hooda said the current government was refusing to come to the work mode, even after assuming office for over three months now. “This government is citing its speeches as its achievements, nothing is happening on the ground. It’s a non-functional government,” he said.
“Farmers are facing an existential crisis as their crops have been damaged by hailstorms a few days ago but the damage has not been assessed and they have not yet been given compensation for crop losses. Far from giving any relief, the government continues to raise input prices and continues to collect several lakhs from the farmers in the name of tubewell connections. Farmers had to pay ₹10,000 for a tubewell connection under the Congress rule, but now have to pay ₹2 lakh,” said Mr. Hooda.
SYL issue
On the controversial Sutlej Yamuna Link canal, Mr. Hooda alleged that the State government has been twiddling its thumbs over the issue even after the Supreme Court has already given a decision.