Senior Congress leader and Hisar MP Jai Parkash took a veiled swipe at party colleague Brijendra Singh over his political outreach march, claiming that many farmers in the Hisar region still harbour resentment against the former MP for remaining with the BJP during the nationwide agitation against the Centre’s now repealed three farm laws.
Prakash’s remarks came just days after Congress leader and leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, joined the Gurugram stretch of Brijendra’s statewide Sadbhav Yatra on May 8.
During an interaction with the media in Hisar, Prakash questioned the political impact of such yatras, noting that people expect sustained public engagement and a strong opposition voice rather than symbolic campaigns.
“The yatra did not evoke a major response as Brijender remained a BJP MP (from Hisar) when the three anti-farmer bills were drafted by the central government. During the subsequent year-long agitation, nearly 700 farmers died”, he said, adding that several party leaders from the state maintained a distance from this march.
Brijendra had switched over to the Congress from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He later contested the 2024 assembly election from his family citadel, Uchana Kalan in Jind district, but lost by a narrow margin of 32 votes. He has challenged the verdict in the Punjab and Haryana high court. The matter is sub-judice.
The foot march started in October last year and aims to traverse across all 90 constituencies in the state. Brijendra has projected it as an effort to reconnect with people and strengthen the Congress at the grassroots after the party’s electoral setback in Haryana. He has been raising issues related to unemployment, farmers, social harmony and governance. The yatra has covered 85 constituencies and will conclude in Rohtak by May 30.
{{/usCountry}}The foot march started in October last year and aims to traverse across all 90 constituencies in the state. Brijendra has projected it as an effort to reconnect with people and strengthen the Congress at the grassroots after the party’s electoral setback in Haryana. He has been raising issues related to unemployment, farmers, social harmony and governance. The yatra has covered 85 constituencies and will conclude in Rohtak by May 30.
{{/usCountry}}Several Haryana leaders, including former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, MLAs from his camp and Haryana Congress chief Rao Narendra, have not taken part in the event to date. Hooda had stated that this yatra is not the official party’s programme and had said that he will not take part in this yatra in future as well.
Prakash’s remarks have triggered speculation over emerging factional undercurrents within the Haryana Congress.