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Congress candidate from Karnal takes ‘rejected CM’ jibe at Khattar
Speaking to HT on the sidelines of his first-ever visit to Karnal after being named as Lok Sabha candidate by the Congress, Congress’ Karnal candidate Divyanshu Budhiraja said Khattar, who was “rejected” by his party, won’t be liked by the voters
Congress’ Karnal candidate Divyanshu Budhiraja on Sunday said his BJP counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar is a “rejected CM” and there will be surprising results in the elections from the seat.
Speaking to HT on the sidelines of his first-ever visit to Karnal after being named as Lok Sabha candidate by the Congress, Budhiraja said Khattar, who was “rejected” by his party, won’t be liked by the voters.
“Manohar Lal ji is very senior to me, but the central leadership of the BJP rejected 9.5 years of his tenure as chief minister and he was replaced overnight. By some means, they got a sense that if Khattar leads the state, they will be reduced to naught in Haryana. Thus, I believe that a rejected tag given to him by his party will not be liked by the voters of Karnal Lok Sabha,” he said.
On being asked about the issues that he will raise during his campaign, the 31-year-old leader said for him unemployment is the biggest problem that Haryana is facing.
“In Haryana and also in Karnal, educated youth are shifting to foreign countries through illegal routes due to unemployment. The problems raised by the farmers, including the legal right over MSP, are also another issue. Locally, there is a lot of corruption in issuing family IDs at municipal corporation. Above all, the voters will keep in mind the misdeeds of the Khattar as CM twice,” Budhiraja told the HT.
The state president of the Haryana Youth Congress started his roadshow from Samalkha sub-division in Panipat and ended at Tau Devi Lal Chowk in Karnal on Sunday, covering four assembly segments on the seat. He also addressed workers at Panipat toll plaza.
At Karnal, he was welcomed by Assandh MLA Shamsher Singh Gogi, former MLAs Narender Sangwan, Bhim Sen Mehta, senior leaders Bhupinder Lather, Parag Gaba and workers in large numbers.
However, absence of stalwarts like former speaker Kuldeep Sharma and former MLA Sumita Singh raised questions, those eying the ticket, Virender Rathore and Chanakya Pandit were also not seen.
‘Declared PO to malign my image’
After the roadshow, Budhiraja paid obeisance at Nirmal Kutia, a sacred place for Sikhs and Hindus in Karnal.
Later, he garlanded the statues of Madan Lal Dhingra, Mahatma Gandhi and Dr BR Ambedkar and continued his show in the city till late evening. Speaking to reporters, he said Karnal will witness surprising results in the elections from the seat.
He further said he was declared a proclaimed offender (PO) in an old case with a motive to malign his image.
“I informed the district administration about my visit to Karnal before leaving from Delhi. They could have arrested me, but this is all politically motivated. I got to know about the case on the day I was given the Congress ticket only to malign my image,” he added.
