Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar presents the Budget as his deputy Dushyant Chautala and Home Minister Anil Vij check their tablets, in Chandigarh (File/Express Photo: Jasbir Malhi)
Haryana Vidhan Sabha Monday witnessed an uproar after senior Congress leader Raghuvir Singh Kadian alleged that it was the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which was pulling the strings of the Manohar Lal Khattar-led alliance government in the state.
Kadian was participating in the general discussion on the Budget estimates for the year 2020-21, which were presented by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who also holds the Finance department, in the assembly on Friday.
He attacked the government on mounting debt on Haryana, pointing out that it had risen to Rs 1.98 lakh crore from nearly Rs 71,000 crore five years ago. He said revenue and fiscal deficit was increasing.
Khattar explained that the debt burden had increased during previous regimes too. He said that his government absorbed the debt liabilities of power utilities worth Rs 27,000 crore just like the state government had absorbed the debt burden of Haryana Electricity Board almost two decades back.
Kadian then made a remark on the BJP-led coalition government in the state, alleging that it was the RSS which was pulling the strings.
“This is a government of the RSS, by the RSS and for the RSS in place of government of the people, by the people and for the people,” said Kadian.
The BJP immediately launched a counter-attack with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kanwar Pal Gujjar telling the Opposition legislators that it was the RSS which teaches how to treat all as equals. He also referred to BJP’s slogan of “Haryana is one and Haryanvis are one”. As Pal kept speaking, his voice was lost in the din as Opposition members were indulged in a verbal duel with BJP benches.
Mohammad Ilyas of Congress alleged that the BJP and RSS were “instrumental in dividing the country” while Gujjar replied that it was “your party (Congress), which divided the country”.
Speaker Gian Chand Gupta had to intervene when Transport Minister Mool Chand Sharma and Congress’s Aftab Ahmed were engaged in heated arguments.
The two sides again indulged in a verbal duel and someone from the opposition members made a mention of Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh area, triggering heated exchanges between the two sides.
“Country is moving towards controlled dictatorship and the common man is feeling terrified in this atmosphere,” Kadian said without elaborating as the Speaker interrupted him asking the Congress MLA to restrict himself to speaking on the budget.
Earlier, Kadian said the state government is borrowing more to service the old debt. “Even if the government’s reasoning is accepted for a moment that after absorbing the debt liability of over Rs 27,000 crore of power utilities, still Rs 1 lakh crore debt is huge over five year period of their rule. What we are asking is that where has the money gone because no new major project, no new railway line or metro line, no new university or hospital or any major development work has been done during the past five years,” he said.
Demanding withdrawal of cases lodged during Jat reservation agitation of 2016, Kadian said that the government should have dedicated 50 per cent of the Budget funds to strengthen the brotherhood.
Taking part in the budget discussion, Congress legislator from Rohtak, B B Batra alleged a scam in allotment of land for multi-level parking in his assembly constituency. As former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, demanded that the chief minister should order a probe into it, Khattar agreed to have the matter investigated.
JJP MLA Ram Kumar Gautam, who has been critical of his party leader Dushyant Chautala, said that the government should not take back the land donated to Brahmins and other community members in villages. “Dushyant has stated that such orders were issued during the previous government. If that is the matter, even then you (current government) should correct it,’ said Gautam. Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant also holds the panchayat portfolio.
The JJP MLA also sought 10 per cent reservation for five communities including Jats apart from another 10 per cent reservation for poor from upper castes. Gautam said the outsourcing system for hiring employees should be abolished with immediate effect while seeking permanent appointments of the staffers. The JJP legislator termed the budget as “excellent”.