Haryana CM’s dig at Left trade unions: ‘Hooliganism by red party won’t be tolerated’

The INLD and Congress attempted to ambush the Khattar government over the protests by the anganwadi workers, who have been demanding regularisation of their jobs.

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government will crush every trouble-making move of the Left-leaning trade unions.

Khattar made an impromptu statement. “ (HT File)

Describing the alleged support of such unions to the recent protests as ‘lal rang ki badmashi (hooliganism by the red colour (party)), the visibly combative chief minister said the ongoing agitation by the anganwadi workers across the state was a testament of protesters getting trapped in the net of ‘lal rang’.

The INLD and Congress attempted to ambush the Khattar government over the protests by the anganwadi workers, who have been demanding regularisation of their jobs.

Both Opposition parties started raising this issue soon after the assembly session began. These were competing with each other to emerge as the sole flag-bearer of the cause of the anganwadi workers.

The Opposition benches also managed to corner the treasury benches on this subject, forcing the Khattar government to clear its stand and the haze surrounding the demands of the protesters. The government fielded cabinet minister Kavita Jain to respond to the charges levelled by the Opposition, which accused the government of not fulfilling its election promise.

“The BJP manifesto doesn’t promise the regularisation of anganwadi workers,” Jain, the women and child development minister, said amid noisy protests by the Opposition. “The protesters are being misguided by certain political forces,” she added.

As the Opposition did not relent, Khattar made an impromptu statement. “Lal rang ki badmashi is state me hum nahin chalne denge,” the chief minister said in Hindi. Referring to these trade unions as ‘lal rang’ (red colour) repeatedly, Khattar said, “In West Bengal, a sizeable number of factories were shut because of such unions.”

The government, he said, has put anganwadi workers in the skilled and semi-skilled bracket and hiked the monthly wages of skilled anganwadi workers to Rs 11,429. “This is the highest in the country,” the CM said.

Khattar said two unions of the anganwadi workers had in writing decided to call off their stir on March 1 and welcomed the decisions government had taken.

“Now these people (anganwadi workers) are getting trapped in the web of red colour,” he told the House and appealed the anganwadi workers to join their work.

At the end of around 50-minute debate over the stir by anganwadi workers, the Congress said the reply of the government was not satisfactory and staged a noisy walkout.