Former Haryana Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Monday alleged that the BJP government in the state was “selling jobs like goods at a grocery store” and claimed that a viral call recording involving the BJP’s Kurukshetra district president had exposed how jobs were being sold, from contractual posts under the Kaushal Nigam to permanent government recruitment.
Addressing a press conference here, Hooda said the Congress had raised the issue both on the streets and in the Assembly and had formally submitted facts and evidence to the government. However, he alleged that the BJP government, “intoxicated by the arrogance of power”, had failed to act.
Referring to the NEET issue, Hooda said the examination had to be re-conducted, but even then controversy continued after two doctors were arrested in Rohtak for allegedly orchestrating a paper leak. He further alleged that similar irregularities had repeatedly surfaced in recruitment processes conducted by the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) and the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC).
Hooda also criticised the government over the recent arson incident in Rohtak, saying affected shopkeepers had not received any compensation so far. He termed it unfortunate that they had also been prevented from carrying out fresh construction.
He alleged that people in Haryana had lost faith in the law and order situation and cited incidents ranging from firing at the premises of the Congress state president to the attack on MLA Balram Dangi’s office as evidence of a complete collapse of law and order.
“Today, everyone from traders, businessmen and politicians to doctors is falling victim to threats, extortion and shootings. Crimes such as firing, extortion, robbery, dacoity, murder and rape have become commonplace,” Hooda said.
“The situation is such that, according to the Central Government's Social Progress Index, Haryana ranks as the most unsafe state with a score of 33 points. Furthermore, the India Justice Report indicates that the Haryana Police's ranking has slipped from 8th to 14th place over the last five years. Haryana Police ranks 14th among 18 major states. In the Happiness Index, Haryana stands at the 16th position nationwide. According to a report by the Union Ministry of Rural Development, the state ranks 11th in terms of performance,” he said.
Referring to NITI Aayog’s SDG Report 2023-24, Hooda said Haryana ranked 14th in the country. He also said the state was placed 14th among 18 states in NITI Aayog’s Fiscal Health Index. Citing NCRB data, he claimed corruption cases in Haryana had risen by 187 per cent in the last three years, placing the state sixth in the country on that count.
Hooda further said a report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare showed Haryana ranking fourth in the country in terms of farmers’ debt, with average debt per family standing at Rs 1,82,922.
He said Haryana’s debt, which stood at Rs 60,000 crore in 2014, had now risen to Rs 5.5 lakh crore. He also cited NITI Aayog’s Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2024 report to claim that Haryana had slipped to the 10th position overall from the 5th position it held in the EPI 2021 report. The state’s score, he said, had also dropped from 63.55 to 55.01.
According to Hooda, industries were steadily moving out of Haryana because of the BJP government’s policies. He claimed government data showed that 1,446 factories in the state had either shut down or relocated since 2018-19, and that the industrial sector had declined by 12.2 per cent over the past five years.
Hooda further alleged that Haryana had faced the most discriminatory treatment despite contributing heavily to the Centre through GST and toll tax collections.
“The Central Government collects 7 rupees in taxes from Haryana but returns only 1 rupee in exchange,” he said. He claimed that while Haryana contributed 7.10 per cent of the country’s GST collection, its share in return was only 1.009 per cent, the lowest in the country.
On toll collection, Hooda said Haryana accounted for the highest toll collection in the country. He alleged that although the national norm prescribed a distance of 60 km between toll plazas, the average gap in Haryana was only 45 km. In comparison, he said, the distance was 200 km in Gujarat, 223 km in Kerala and 100 km in Rajasthan.
He further claimed that toll collection in Haryana stood at Rs 70 lakh per kilometre annually, compared with Rs 30 lakh in Gujarat, Rs 35 lakh in Karnataka, Rs 19 lakh in Jharkhand and Rs 21 lakh in Maharashtra. The total toll collected in Haryana, he said, was higher than that of Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
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