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Bhupinder Singh Hooda hopes to make it to Parliament before staging comeback as Haryana CM
Bhupinder Singh Hooda had been a four-time Parliament member from Rohtak when he was named Haryana’s chief minister in March 2005. He went on to rule the state for almost a decade before the Congress lost power in October 2014.
Bhupinder Singh Hooda had been a four-time Parliament member from Rohtak when he was named Haryana’s chief minister in March 2005. He went on to rule the state for almost a decade before the Congress lost power in October 2014.
Hooda is now contesting Lok Sabha elections from Sonepat, and from his campaign pitch, it appears he is hoping to repeat history by making it to Parliament again before staging a comeback as the chief minister.
Rohtak would go to the polls in the sixth phase of the ongoing national polls on May 12. Assembly elections are due in Haryana later this year
“This is not Bhupinder Singh Hooda at your doorstep. This is the next government of Haryana and its chief minister,’’ said Hooda’s aide, Virender, as he announced his arrival for campaigning in Jind’s Radhana village. Virender recalled what Hooda did for the state’s welfare as he spoke before the former chief minister’s address. “They want to see you again as chief minister,’’ he added, before handing a mike to Hooda.
Hooda began his speech with the promise of waiving farm loans, which was one of the pledges that helped the Congress wrest power from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh in December.
Hooda accused the BJP of hoodwinking the people and went on to pledge an increase the old-age pension to ₹3,000 monthly. He also referred to the Congress’s poll promise of ensuring 72,000 annual guaranteed income for the country’s poorest 20%.
Hooda claimed the BJP had appointed educated youth as class fourth employees. “This not only humiliated them but also hampered the prospects of those with lower qualifications,” Hooda said at Bishanpura village.
An aide drew Hooda’s attention to a group of bystanders. “I will come and sit down with you after the polls. Those who got ₹15 lakh as per the BJP’s promise before the 2014 elections should definitely vote for the party. But those who did not get the amount should vote for us [Congress],” he told the bystanders.
Hooda was apparently referring to an election speech of Narendra Modi when he was the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate in 2014. In the speech, Modi had said that every poor person may get ₹15 lakh if all the black money stashed in foreign banks is brought back.
Hooda blamed the BJP governments in Haryana and at the Centre for not fulfilling any promises. “Farmers are distressed, the poor have nothing to cheer about, the economy is in shambles. Because the BJP has nothing to show in terms of its achievements, it is whipping up hysteria by taking credit for the accomplishments of the defence forces. It is a sad state of affairs,” said Hooda.
In Biroli village, Hooda said he allotted 3.82 lakh 100-square yard plots to below the poverty line families, 10 lakh water connections and 200-litre water storage tanks each.
Hooda accused the BJP of being vindictive when asked about the corruption cases he faces. “Look at the fate of the S N Dhingra Commission. The high court has set aside its report,’’ he said. Hooda was referring to Punjab and Haryana high court’s order in January about the commission’s report. The panel was set up in 2015 to probe allegations that laws were flouted in granting land licences in Gurugram during Hooda’s rule. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s husband, Robert Vadra, was among the alleged beneficiary of the licences .
BJP’s lawmaker from Sonepat, Ramesh Kaushik, called Hooda an outsider. “The people of Sonepat need someone from Sonepat, and not from Rohtak. Hooda is an outsider and the people of Sonepat will never vote for outsiders.”
