Lok Sabha elections 2019: Congress on ‘Parivartan yatra’ to play up alleged BJP failures

Fifteen members of the coordination committee led by former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda would be touring Haryana in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls on May 12.

The Congress plans to highlight the alleged failures of the ruling party through the ‘Parivartan yatra’, which commenced in the city on Tuesday. The yatra is also to present a picture of unity to the masses so that it is seen as a viable alternative to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The Congress plans to highlight the alleged failures of the ruling party through the ‘Parivartan yatra’, which commenced in the city on Tuesday. (Yogesh Kumar/HT Photo)

Members of the Congress coordination committee, Haryana, started the yatra at the Delhi-Gurugram border (at Sirhaul toll plaza) in the presence of senior Congress leaders and party workers. The five-day bus yatra would cover all 10 Lok Sabha constituencies and conclude on March 31, party workers said.

Fifteen members of the coordination committee led by former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda would be touring the state in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls on May 12.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress general secretary and in-charge, Haryana, said, “It is time to teach a lesson to the BJP. Moves such as demonetisation and GST have badly hurt small businesses and industry,” he said. The yatra covered Gurugram, Sohna, Nuh, Tauru, Daruhera, Bawal, Naiwali, Kund, Ateli, Mirzapur and halted at Narnaul.

Hooda launched an all-out attack on the government and said that farmers had got the worst deal in the present dispensation. “Farmers are not getting a fair price for the produce. The BJP has no vision for the state and it has failed on every front — be it employment, infrastructure or economic growth,” he said, adding that changes in Metro route, measures to divert land in the Aravallis and the recent incident of beating up of a Muslim family indicate a failure of governance.

The BJP, however, denied the accusations. “I challenge the Congress leadership for a debate on issues of development and social welfare. We have brought more highways, better roads, colleges and medical institutions in all districts of Haryana. Jobs have been given on merit and development carried out without discrimination. The Congress claims would fall flat at the hustings,” said Jawahar Yadav, spokesperson, BJP, Haryana