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In the realm of Indian politics, Bhupinder Singh Hooda stands as a prominent figure with a remarkable journey of leadership. Currently holding the esteemed position of Leader of the Opposition in the Haryana Legislative Assembly, Hooda's political career has been marked by significant milestones. From 2005 to 2014, he served as the Chief Minister of Haryana, winning the state assembly elections twice, an event not witnessed in the state since 1972. Additionally, he boasts of being a four-time Member of Parliament, showcasing his enduring commitment to public service and governance. In an exclusive interview with News Arena India Editor-in-Chief Naveen S Garewal, Mr. Bhupinder Singh Hooda shares his vision for the upcoming Haryana Assembly and National Parliamentary elections, as well as anecdotes from his journey in the political landscape of Haryana and India.

 

We will go to the people, highlighting issues of corruption, unemployment, law and order and make them see the difference between what our party did and what the current BJP-JJP alliance is doing.

 

The Haryana BJP-JJP government is a non-performing government. They are only event managers, and they do not believe in addressing any problems or issues faced by farmers, traders, or people in urban or rural areas. There is widespread disappointment all over. The GDP of Haryana was at the top position in the country. There were plenty of jobs, and Law and Order were under control. Today, there is unemployment and crime. Now Haryana ranks among the top 2 or 3 states in the country in terms of crime and corruption. The current government is a failed government. There are paper leaks, jobs get sold, and no decision has been taken to fill over 2000 sanctioned jobs.

 

The government needed to take digitisation further from where we left it. We aimed to improve land records, reducing queues at treasuries and electricity payment offices. The current BJP needs to fix its schemes by trying to digitise property identities where records of entire villages have been eliminated from records; schemes like Meri Fasal-Mera-Byora, Parivar Pehchan Patra(Family ID), etc have lopsided implementation. Farmers cannot take their produce to the mandi because of the failure to develop processes. Records of old age pensioners were wrongly deleted, forcing people to remain without pension for over a year.

 

People have rejoined the Congress—about 34 Former MLAs have unconditionally joined the Congress after Udai Bhan took over as party President. Anyone wanting to come back to the Congress folds must do so unconditionally.

 

The Congress cannot say the people did not want us to form the government for 2019. There were some issues with ticket distribution. The Congress MLAs collectively fell short by about 4000 votes, some losing with a margin of less than 500. BJP entered an unholy alliance with the JJP and formed the government. But this time, nothing is stopping the Congress from forming the next government. The people of Haryana are fed up with this government and some are still awaiting the common minimum program that was to be formulated under the chairmanship of Anil Vij.

 

All 36 biradri/communities in Haryana support the Congress. I do not believe in politics based on caste or community. I can say the entire agricultural community supports Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the Congress, especially as they see the BJP to be anti-farmer. Four hundred fifty farmers were killed during the farmers' agitation after the BJP tried to introduce the ‘motivated’ farm laws. The farmers will never forgive the BJP for its anti-farmer policies.

 

The INDIA alliance will undoubtedly make a significant dent in the BJP Poll prospects. At this point talking about the PM face is nothing but hypothetical. But there has been a good beginning, and the opposition has overcome many teething problems.

 

The SRK group does not exist on the ground. This is just a creation of the media. Congress is a democratic party and allows individuals to have different points of view, but all decisions are taken collectively in consultation with all stakeholders and the party’s high command.

 

The people have already decided that they want Congress to rule the state in 2024. No one has rejected my suggestion of having four deputy chief ministers representing different communities to ensure every community gets equal representation. Such suggestions are never part of any manifesto but will be considered at the time of the formation of a government.

 

As I said Congress is a democratic party, and it is the MLAs who decide the chief minister. I will contest the election as a party soldier, and I am not claiming any right to the top position. Such things are decided considering what the elected MLAs and party high command desires.

 

It's a decision the party's high command takes. In the Congress, you don't say "I want". You comply with whatever the party wants you to do.
INLD wanted to ally with Congress, but you stopped them from joining the opposition alliance.
The media is free to speculate, but there is no truth in this presumption.

 

The Aam Aadmi party has no existence in Haryana. During the Adampur by-election rally addressed by Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann, they managed to gather only 3000 people. In Haryana, AAP has no support base.

 

The SYL issue has attained finality after the 2002 decision by the Supreme Court. Punjab's abrogation of the Water agreement stands nullified by the highest court of the country. The BJP-JJP government has failed to get the state its due share of water. More water from Punjab is Haryana's right based on historical facts. Punjab is not a riparian state and cannot deny Haryana its due share of water. The situation Punjab tried to create amounts to hitting at the nation's federal structure. The case is like if Haryana were to say that it would block Punjab's passage through its territory. There are some basic tenets of a federal structure that must be protected. I want to re-emphasise that water from river Sutlej is our right, and Punjab would not be doing us any favour by allowing the river water to flow into Haryana. The courts have already ruled the pre-independence agreement ensured water flows even to Rajasthan, which is why the Rajasthan canal exists to date. The courts have already ruled in favour of Haryana, and there is no question of reopening the issue.