Former Haryana chief minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday demanded that the BJP government immediately regularise employees working under the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN). He accused the government of exploiting young people through the system and sought permanent status, equal pay, DA, promotion, reservation and retirement benefits for HKRN workers.
Hooda said the Congress would meet the Governor and submit a memorandum on the issue. He described the HKRN system as exploitative and unconstitutional, arguing that educated youth were being reduced to daily-wage workers without job security.
Citing Article 16 of the Constitution, Hooda questioned the difference in wages for employees doing the same work. He said a permanent employee could receive ₹80,000 while an HKRN worker gets around ₹20,000. He demanded that HKRN employees be absorbed into regular posts and that sanctioned vacancies be filled through transparent recruitment.
Hooda said the Congress had recently held a protest in Panchkula in support of contractual workers. He claimed the demonstration drew a large turnout despite rain and received support from contractual employees across Haryana.
He also said sanitation workers were protesting across the state, alleging that the government had ignored their demands. Hooda claimed the previous Congress government had appointed 11,000 rural and 14,000 urban sanitation workers, but they had not been regularised.
On allegations made by INLD leader Abhay Chautala, Hooda said he would file civil and criminal cases against him. He denied Chautala’s claims that he had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah or had any connection with a private company.
Responding to the BJP’s criticism of the Congress-era sports policy, Hooda defended the policy, saying it continued to receive recognition. He highlighted the appointment of 17 medal-winning athletes as DSPs and cash awards of up to ₹5 crore for international medal winners.
He also cited the SPAT programme for 20 lakh children and diet allowances for young athletes. Hooda said Haryana athletes won 22 of India’s 38 gold medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Hooda congratulated the medal winners and said the impact of sports infrastructure and academies created during the Congress tenure was still visible. He alleged that the BJP government had changed the earlier sports policy, affecting athletes’ rewards and appointments.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra said the party had approached the Election Commission with concerns over the state’s SIR process and sought an additional month for it.
Follow us
