Three-day assembly session begins today: Congress to corner Haryana govt over law & order, corruption

It has been learnt that the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting, chaired by assembly Speaker Harvinder Kalyan here on Wednesday, decided to have three sittings of the session

The three-day monsoon session of the Haryana assembly, starting on Thursday, is set to turn up the heat on the Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government’s inept handling of civic issues, law and order, alleged corruption in governance, and Gurugram residents battling water-logging.

The House will not meet on August 28-29-30 on account of Raksha Bandhan and other scheduled holidays. (HT Photo for representation)

Ahead of the first sitting of the assembly session, beginning at 11 am on Thursday, the Opposition Congress geared up to corner the government on a host of issues, with Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda saying that the “issues are plenty”, ranging from “corruption” to law and order and water-logging.

It has been learnt that the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting, chaired by assembly Speaker Harvinder Kalyan here on Wednesday, decided to have three sittings of the session.

Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and deputy Speaker Krishan Lal Middha were among those present at the BAC meeting. The first day of session will start with obituary references, followed by Question Hour, the laying of papers on the table of the House, and legislative business that includes introducing Amendment Bills.

Ahead of the session on Wednesday, the Congress adopted an aggressive stance. Led by the CLP leader Hooda, the party MLAs discussed the floor strategy in the CLP meeting and decided to make corruption, and law and order one of the main issues.

Emerging from the CLP meeting, the former CM, Hooda said that there is no dearth of issues and that Congress wanted discussion on every issue. “The law and order in the state and the rise in organised crime is a matter of concern,” the LoP said, who during the CLP meeting also raised serious questions regarding the BJP government’s handling of law and order.

He said recent incidents, such as firing in Dadri and a dacoity in Kurukshetra, have created an atmosphere of fear across the state. “The manner in which miscreants executed a crime right in front of a police station clearly indicates a complete absence of fear of the law. Incidents of looting, dacoity, extortion, murder, and firing have become routine in Haryana,” he alleged.

Those in the know in the Congress say the “organised criminal activities” and ongoing strike of municipal sanitation workers will be among other issues which are set to figure prominently in Opposition’s offensive.

While the agitation of sanitation workers has disrupted garbage collection and other civic services across the state, the massive water logging in Gurugram has exposed the tall claims of the government about its preparations in the run up to the rainy season.

“The Congress will corner the government as to why the logjam with sanitation workers was allowed to escalate,” said a Congress MLA.

But Gurugram’s water-logging appears to be the key issue to receive particular attention in the House. Hooda said the BJP had completely ruined Gurugram, the Millennium City created by the Congress. He said the Congress government had developed Gurugram into a modern, international-level IT hub, but the BJP had turned it into an “open sea” as a little rain now leaves roads, streets and colonies waterlogged, while the sewerage system has completely collapsed.

“There is no proper drainage or cleanliness facility to be seen anywhere,” he said, lambasting Gurugram MP and Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh for blaming the Congress for Gurugram’s poor condition despite the BJP being in power at both the Centre and in the state for 12 years.

“Twelve years is a very long time. An entire new city can be established in that period, but the BJP has failed even to manage the civic infrastructure of an already established modern city,” Hooda said, making it clear that the opposition is set to put the government on the mat.

Debate must be driven by facts, not falsehoods: Saini

The debate in the vidhan sabha must be based on facts and not falsehoods, said chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, asking the Opposition that if it wishes to raise any issue, it should place the facts before the House.

“The government is fully prepared to respond to every question on the basis of facts,” he said. Referring to the duration of the monsoon session, he said, “The Opposition has no issue left and is therefore raising questions over the duration of the session.”

Saini said the significance of a vidhan sabha session cannot be measured merely by its duration. “What matters more is the quality of debate in the House and the seriousness of the issues taken up,” he said.

“Every question will be answered,” he said, adding that the Opposition should place its views before the House and the government will respond. “Meaningful debate is essential in a democracy... The government never shies away from discussion or answering questions.”