Former chief minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday said Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan should take moral responsibility for repeated paper leaks and resign from his post.
Hooda said the Union minister had failed to stop paper leaks, which continue to affect students across the country. He also praised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for raising issues concerning students and youth at the 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' (Students' Voice) rally in Kota.
"Rahul Gandhi is raising the concerns of young people and students who are troubled by paper leaks and unemployment. The issues he has raised and the demand for the Education Minister's resignation are fully justified," Hooda said.
Speaking to reporters in Sonipat, Hooda also demanded that the Haryana government convene a special session of the Legislative Assembly to discuss the law and order situation in the state. He alleged that law and order in Haryana had deteriorated significantly.
Referring to the Centre's Social Progress Index, Hooda claimed Haryana had been ranked as the most unsafe state in the country. He also cited NCRB data, saying Haryana ranks fourth in the country in cases of organised crime.
He further said Haryana figures among the states with a high number of crimes against women, alongside Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
“In 2024, 1,391 incidents of rape against women were reported in Haryana, whereas only 1,165 were recorded in a large state like Bihar. This means the situation in Haryana has become worse than in Bihar. The state records three murders and four rape cases every day,” he said.
Hooda said the law and order situation had worsened to the extent that no section of society felt safe from criminal activities. He claimed that actors, doctors, politicians and businessmen had all been targeted in incidents involving gunfire, threats and extortion.
Commenting on other issues, Hooda said the BJP government was not serious about law and order, the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue or the construction of the new Legislative Assembly building.
He alleged that although the chief minister frequently visits Punjab, he does not raise matters related to Haryana's water rights and other state concerns. On the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Hooda said the Congress was closely monitoring the process.
“Our objective is to ensure that no valid vote is deleted, and no bogus vote is registered," he said.
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