Former chief minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda appealed to the people of Panchkula to vote for the Congress party. He met the Congress mayoral candidate, Sudha Bhardwaj, and all 20 councillor candidates.
Addressing a press conference, he expressed confidence in a strong victory for the Congress in the Panchkula municipal elections. Hooda said the elections in all three municipal corporations are tilting in favour of the Congress. He said no development has taken place in Panchkula in the last 11 years. “The roads are dilapidated, and the condition of the city is extremely poor.
Panchkula is a city adjacent to the state capital, Chandigarh, yet development here has been completely neglected,” he said. Hooda also raised the issue of a Rs 160 crore scam in the Panchkula Municipal Corporation. He said action is being taken only against junior employees, even though the scam is much larger.
He questioned the BJP mayoral candidate, saying he was earlier involved in road construction contracts. “How can someone who built poor-quality roads bring development as Mayor?” he asked.
Attacking the state government, Hooda said Haryana has become the most unsafe state in the country. He claimed unemployment is at its peak and incidents of crime and extortion are rising.
He cited cases of ransom demands made to businessmen and said the Chief Minister was busy touring Punjab instead of addressing issues in Haryana. He added that people in Panchkula and Punjab would not support the BJP.
On the state’s financial situation, Hooda said Haryana’s debt has risen from Rs 60,000 crore (1966–2014) to nearly Rs 5 lakh crore in the last 11 years. He also alleged irregularities in housing allotments meant for the poor.
Referring to the “triple-engine government” claim, he said all three engines have failed. He alleged corruption in municipal bodies, including road works only in paper in Faridabad and scams in Panchkula and Rohtak.
Hooda said basic services like drainage, sewage, sanitation, and CCTV systems in Panchkula are in poor condition. He promised that the Congress would remove corruption and improve city development.
On women’s reservation, he accused the BJP of delaying implementation despite passing the bill in 2023. He expressed confidence that Congress mayoral candidate Sudha Bhardwaj would win and urged voters to support Congress candidates for better governance and development.
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