Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs lashed out at the opposition party Congress on day 2 of the Haryana Assembly on Thursday, claiming that corruption and favouritism in jobs were at their peak when the grand old party was in power whereas merit and transparency have been the sole criteria under the ruling dispensation.
Participating in the discussion on the governor's address in the assembly, Sohna MLA Tejpal Tanwar said all-round development took place under the BJP-led government in the state for the last decade, and the people gave us a mandate for the third consecutive time when we delivered, said Tanwar while pointing to the Congress' benches.
BJP's Rewari MLA Laxman Singh Yadav reminded the Congress that there was a time when the opposition party was in power and "people had to sell their land to procure jobs and then middlemen used to exploit them too".
"But our government brought in transparency and we gave 1.70 lakh jobs during the past ten years...When the Congress was in power, there was regional bias in development while favouritism and corruption prevailed in giving jobs, but our government gave jobs without any 'kharchi and parchi' and merit has been the sole criteria, undertook equitable development and brought in transparency," Yadav said.
The discussion during the governor's address also saw verbal exchanges between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress members on some issues.
Congress' Rohtak MLA B B Batra, while participating in the discussion on the governor's address, said, "Money power has also been used by the BJP in the polls. People raised questions on EVMs."
Haryana Minister Arvind Sharma intervened and said the Congress has always been in the habit of blaming EVMs whenever they lose an election.
Batra said, "There are 120 countries where EVMs are not used. Why elections are not held in the country using ballot papers?" The Congress leader said the new data shows that 70 per cent of the population in the state falls below the poverty line (BPL).
"Seventy per cent of the population is below the poverty line, we have to ponder on this," he said.
Batra said it was ironic that while on one hand, the per capita income is over Rs 3.25 lakh, 70 per cent population was below the poverty line. He said there are two things - one is removing poverty and the second is to provide food to the hungry.
Senior Congress member Raghuvir Singh Kadian pointed to Governor Bandaru Dattatreya in his address to the newly elected Haryana MLAs on the opening day of session on Wednesday, saying the government is committed to securing its legitimate share of water from the Ravi and Beas rivers and complete the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal.
Kadian said Haryana should get its share of SYL waters at the earliest and urged the chief minister to take an all-party delegation to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the SYL matter.
He said the government is saying there is no DAP fertiliser shortage, "but the reality is that there is a shortage".
On the law and order front, Kadian said that ransoms are being sought from the traders and crime is increasing.
Congress MLA Nirmal Singh said the government should put out data stating how many out of total government jobs given during the past ten years have been given to those who are from outside the state.
BJP's Bhiwani MLA Ghanshyam Saraf alleged that his constituency was neglected during the Congress' time, but it witnessed development during BJP's rule.
Intervening in a matter raised by Congress member Mohd Illyas, the MLA from Punhana in Nuh district, Haryana Minister Rao Narbir Singh said the Mewat region witnessed development under the BJP rule.
The minister said the Congress should tell how much funds were given to Mewat when they were in power.
Kanwar Singh, the BJP MLA from Mahendragarh, said that his party came to power for the third consecutive term based on works done by the government.
"The government gave jobs to youth purely on a merit basis. The government is procuring every single grain of the farmers and money is being credited into their bank accounts", he said.
BJP MLA from Rai in Sonipat district, Krishna Gahlawat, said the government, has done work for various sections, including poor, farmers, and women, during the last 10 years.
"1.70 lakh youth have got jobs on merit during past ten years," she said.
BJP's Safidon MLA, Ram Kumar Gautam, said that he had said "the fight is between BJP and Hooda's party and not the Congress" even before the assembly polls were held in Haryana.
"When we used to go to villages and towns and ask people how many development works were undertaken during the Congress' time, they used to say all development took place under the BJP's rule," Gautam said.
"After poll results were out, the Congress has once again blamed EVMs. Ten years ago, no one could even think people would get jobs on merit. Development used to be concentrated around the Rohtak region...Country's prestige around the globe has risen under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's regime," he said.
BJP's Kalka MLA, Shakti Rani Sharma, and another party legislator from Pataudi in Gurugram district, Bimla Chaudhary, said many youths from ordinary backgrounds have secured jobs on a merit basis during the BJP rule.
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