Congress demands regularisation of staff hired via Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam

Addressing the protesters, Hooda accused the BJP government of exploiting youth through the HKRN; he demanded that all employees recruited through the corporation be regularised in government service and provided equal pay scales

The Haryana Congress on Wednesday staged a protest near the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN) office in Sector 6, demanding the regularisation of all personnel recruited through the corporation.

Hooda said the government’s primary responsibility was to conduct regular recruitment and provide stable employment to the youth. (Sant Arora/HT)

The protest was led by former chief minister and leader of Opposition (LoP) Bhupinder Singh Hooda and state Congress president Rao Narendra. Party MPs Deepender Hooda, Varun Mulana, Satpal Brahmachari and Karmbir Baudh, besides MLAs, former MLAs and other senior leaders, participated in the demonstration.

Addressing the protesters, Hooda accused the BJP government of exploiting youth through the HKRN. He demanded that all employees recruited through the corporation be regularised in government service and provided equal pay scales, dearness allowance, promotion opportunities, reservation and retirement benefits.

“Future appointments should also be made through regular recruitment processes,” Hooda said, alleging that the government was promoting the contractual system by even filling gazetted posts through the HKRN.

Hooda said the government’s primary responsibility was to conduct regular recruitment and provide stable employment to the youth. He claimed that during the Congress government’s tenure, the number of government posts had been increased to four lakh to create more employment opportunities and ensure better public services, but the BJP government had reduced the figure to 2.5 lakh.

As a large number of party workers headed towards the protest site in Sector 6 on foot and in vehicles, several roads in the area witnessed heavy traffic congestion. The stretch from Bella Vista Chowk to Geeta Chowk and Shaheed Major Sandeep Sagar Chowk was particularly affected.

Police had barricaded the internal road leading to the HKRN office and Haryana Police headquarters. As a result, protesters were diverted towards the road along the civil hospital gate. The heavy gathering of protesters and vehicles, coupled with waterlogging, left several patients, their family members and even ambulances stuck in traffic.

Police also barricaded the Sector 6/7 dividing road, while hundreds of protesters gathered on the internal roads in Sector 6.