Will form Punjabi welfare board if voted to power: Hooda

Hooda was in Karnal to chair a state-level Punjabi Samaj Sammelan, organised on the martyrdom day of freedom fighter Madan Lal Dhingra. Congress state president Udai Bhan, senior party leaders Raj Babbar, Ashok Arora, Ashok Mehta, BB Batra, Subhash Batra, Divyanshu Budhiraja and others were present.

Former chief minister and leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday announced the formation of Punjabi welfare board, if voted to power.

Former chief minister and leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday announced the formation of Punjabi welfare board, if voted to power. (HT Photo)

Hooda was in Karnal to chair a state-level Punjabi Samaj Sammelan, organised on the martyrdom day of freedom fighter Madan Lal Dhingra.

Congress state president Udai Bhan, senior party leaders Raj Babbar, Ashok Arora, Ashok Mehta, BB Batra, Subhash Batra, Divyanshu Budhiraja and others were present.

JJP MLA from Shahabad Ramkaran Kala, who quit the party on Saturday, also attended the programme. He is one of the 56 applicants for a ticket from the same seat in Kurukshetra district.

Addressing the gathering, Hooda said that the Punjabi community has played a leading role in the progress of the entire country, including Haryana. He said Congress has always given full respect and representation to Punjabis, but the BJP government “could not provide security to the community, let alone giving it its rights”.

“Demands of the Punjabi society will be fulfilled, and a separate welfare board will be formed for the society after the formation of the Congress government. A senior leader of the community would be made its chairman, who is fully aware of the issues and demands of the Punjabi society,” he said.

He said the Punjabi community was always given a fair share during the Congress government, be it Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha tickets, place in the cabinet, chairmanship of boards and corporations or appointment in the Chief Minister’s Office. “In this Lok Sabha election too, the party made two leaders of the Punjabi society its candidates,” he stated.

He also hit out at the ruling BJP on various aspects and cornered former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar for shifting the statue of Madan Lal Dhingra from a park to a new bus stand in Karnal.

“Congress installed the statue of the martyr in Sector-13, and also constructed a medical college in the name of Kalpana Chawla. The BJP government also displaced the statue of the martyr and also tried to change the name of Kalpana Chawla Medical College,” he pointed out.

Former MP Raj Babbar appealed to the community to come together and support the Congress in the assembly election and ensure its participation in the next government, while former minister Subhash Batra said the Punjabi community was given the maximum participation in comparison to all other governments, during the Hooda government.

Meanwhile in Yamunanagar, Congress MP from Rohtak Deepender Hooda hit out at the BJP for announcing early elections in the state, during his “Haryana Maange Hisaab” yatra.

“The BJP sacrificed its own announcements to the code of conduct. They made many big announcements one after the other before the announcement of elections, but none of these announcements were fulfilled,” he said.

The yatra later reached Ambala Cantt, where former minister Nirmal Singh, party leader Chitra Sarwara and others joined.