Chaos in Haryana House as BJP, Cong spar over job irregularities

The Haryana assembly witnessed stormy proceedings on Tuesday as the opposition Congress and ruling BJP MLAs locked horns over alleged irregularities in government job recruitments during the tenure of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

- HT Correspondent

CHANDIGARH:

The uproar began after BJP MLA Om Parkash Yadav raised the issue during Zero Hour, citing a recent Punjab and Haryana high court verdict that questioned a 2008 recruitment process. Yadav alleged that under the Hooda-led Congress government, a topper was unfairly denied a job, which was instead given to another candidate.

No sooner had Yadav made the allegation than Congress MLAs challenged the claim. Parliamentary affairs minister Mahipal Dhanda also weighed in on the matter, while chief minister Nayab Singh Saini backed Yadav's assertion. Saini accused the Congress of manipulating merit lists and claimed that the party had made election promises of "50 votes for one job".

"Injustice was done to the youth during the police inspector recruitment in 2008 under the Congress government, which is a matter of concern," Saini said, adding that the Punjab and Haryana high court, in its judgment, had expressed its concerns about the recruitment process followed at that time.

The chief minister said the top performing candidates were sidelined and not recruited, while others were selected when Congress was in power. He reiterated that during the assembly elections, the youths were misled by the Congress leaders with promises that if they provided 50 votes, they would secure a job.

The debate escalated when senior BJP leader Anil Vij took jabs at Hooda, who was absent from the House. His remarks triggered a furious reaction from Congress MLAs.

His remarks triggered a furious reaction from Congress MLAs, prompting Speaker Harvinder Singh Kalyan to order that Vij's comments about Hooda be expunged from official records.