Haryana: Kadian launches all-out attack on Saini govt
Congress leader says the state is grappling with a severe shortage of teachers in schools and doctors in hospitals, illegal mining is rampant and the government has ‘failed’ to curb the growing drug menace.
The Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government in Haryana came under heavy fire in the state assembly on Monday, with the Congress slamming “inapt handling” of hot-button issues like the drug menace, “poor” education standards in government schools, shortage of teachers and doctors, and rampant illegal mining.
Senior Congress MLA (Beri segment) Raghuvir Singh Kadian led the Congress’ attack as the House began discussion on the motion of thanks on governor’s address to the assembly.
The principal Opposition’s offensive gained further weight as the Congress MLA quoted some BJP legislators who had outside the House and in recent official meetings expressed dissatisfaction with the state of affairs.
Apparently on the back-foot, the ruling party lawmakers maintained a studied silence as Congress’ old warhorse Kadian hit out at the government for not doing enough to curb the drug menace. As the MLA cited examples how the “drug remnants are visible in village streets” and said the situation is critical, assembly speaker Harvinder Kalyan also endorsed Kadian’s views. “It is a serious issue,” said the speaker.
The Congress leader informed the House that two BJP legislators, who were present in the House, had also aired similar views with regard to prevalence of drugs and governance etc in the official meetings outside the House. “Recently, cabinet minister Rao Narbir Singh had said that Gurugram is a mother of corruption,” he said and dismissed governor’s address as merely a government document approved by the cabinet.
“Even the governor seemed disinterested in reading it. The government should have acknowledged its shortcomings, and the address should have reflected how it plans to overcome them,” he said.
Questioning the BJP’s claims of good governance, the Congress leader said the state is grappling with a severe shortage of teachers in schools and doctors in hospitals, while illegal mining is rampant, and the government has failed to curb the growing drug menace.
Kadian pointed out that the governor’s address is silent on key issues bothering the public. “Schools are running without teachers, hospitals without doctors—how does this government plan to function?” he questioned and accused the government of indulging in a publicity blitz to praise itself.
Again quoting a BJP MLA who had spoken about rampant drug abuse (outside House), he said, “Even the police are aware of the situation, yet nothing is being done.” He claimed that BJP MLA’s remarks on the drug problem and governance were a major embarrassment for the ruling party as they exposed the government’s failure in addressing the issue.
“The power minister is without power. He (Anil Vij) complains that he has no say in the government. Vij has said that chief minister remains airborne most of the time,” Kadian said and the ruling MLAs protested.
At this assembly speaker Kalyan advised that the members of both the sides should hear each other with patience. Citing a study, Kadian noted that Haryana’s students lag behind their counterparts in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. “The path to a state’s prosperity runs through education, yet this government has left key teaching positions vacant. The grant-in-aid to universities has been converted into loans. I smell a conspiracy. In the long run, these universities will be privatised,” he warned and further criticised the government for its failure to appoint vice chancellors in six universities.
Earlier, BJP MLA Ghanshyam Dass initiated the debate on the motion of thanks to the governor’s address. He asserted that the BJP had repeatedly proven itself as a government that cares for farmers. Listing the pro-people measures taken by the government, he said, “We have returned to power for the third consecutive term because of our good governance and the numerous steps our government has been taking since 2014 to ensure development across the state.”
Assandh BJP MLA Yoginder Singh Rana seconded the motion. The House will resume the debate on Tuesday.
