The BJP government in Haryana may have turned the heat on former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda by registering a case against him in the allotment of industrial plots in Panchkula, but the state Congress seems divided over the strategy to deal with the situation.
The party stand, as declared by Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Ashok Tanwar, is the party is firmly behind Hooda, while the Congress, unlike its strategy over the last one year, seems divided about taking the fight to the streets for now as they are concerned about the implications of the case.
Insiders said the registration of the FIR against Hooda would earn him public sympathy, while others said the party’s image had taken a beating with the Lokayukta’s recommendation for FIRs against the party’s former MLAs and the FIR against Hooda.
“We will continue our fight against the Manohar Lal Khattar government on various issues, including the paddy scam, and keep up the pressure, but we still have to devise a strategy to deal with this. Moreover, some of our leaders, when the Congress government was in power, spoke out openly against Hooda’s working. We will need to see how to balance things and then proceed,” a senior leader said.
Tanwar, meanwhile, said the party was with Hooda and protests would be organised against the “government’s intolerance and vendetta, if such a need is felt”. “We have no faith in the investigation by government agencies since these can be misused by the government. The cases against Congressmen are BJP’s way of hiding its own failures but the government cannot stifle our voices in Parliament or the Assembly or even in streets by resorting to such tactics,” Tanwar said, adding the party had faith in the judiciary.
With the defence of Hooda falling primarily on his “supporter” MLAs, sources said they would take on the government and give a befitting reply for the FIR by intensifying their protests against the government while the MLAs and the former CM would battle it out in court.
“Hooda is the only Congress leader the BJP government felt threatened from. There is no truth in these allegations and cases. This is the BJP way of trying to silence its opponents. We will not let this pass. Also, the timing of the case is crucial. It was registered to keep the crowds away from Delhi where Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi were to appear in court yesterday (Saturday),” said Congress MLA Karan Dalal.
The government, on its part, is still trying to gauge the public response to its decision of registering the FIR against Hooda even as it hopes to nail the former CM in the Commission of Inquiry on land deals in Gurgaon and build up further pressure by opening inquiries on land released after the initiation of acquisition proceedings.
'No faith in govt agencies'
"We have no faith in the investigation by government agencies since these can be misused by the government. The cases against Congressmen are BJP’s way of hiding its own failures but the government cannot stifle our voices in Parliament or the Assembly or even in streets by resorting to such tactics. The party has faith in the judiciary" Ashok Tanwar, State Congress Chief
"Hooda is the only Congress leader the BJP government felt threatened from. There is no truth in these allegations and cases. This is the BJP way of trying to silence its opponents. We will not let this pass. Also, the timing of the case is crucial. It was registered to keep the crowds away from Delhi where Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi were to appear in court Saturday" Karan Dalal, Congress MLA
The party stand, as declared by Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Ashok Tanwar, is the party is firmly behind Hooda, while the Congress, unlike its strategy over the last one year, seems divided about taking the fight to the streets for now as they are concerned about the implications of the case.
Insiders said the registration of the FIR against Hooda would earn him public sympathy, while others said the party’s image had taken a beating with the Lokayukta’s recommendation for FIRs against the party’s former MLAs and the FIR against Hooda.
“We will continue our fight against the Manohar Lal Khattar government on various issues, including the paddy scam, and keep up the pressure, but we still have to devise a strategy to deal with this. Moreover, some of our leaders, when the Congress government was in power, spoke out openly against Hooda’s working. We will need to see how to balance things and then proceed,” a senior leader said.
Tanwar, meanwhile, said the party was with Hooda and protests would be organised against the “government’s intolerance and vendetta, if such a need is felt”. “We have no faith in the investigation by government agencies since these can be misused by the government. The cases against Congressmen are BJP’s way of hiding its own failures but the government cannot stifle our voices in Parliament or the Assembly or even in streets by resorting to such tactics,” Tanwar said, adding the party had faith in the judiciary.
With the defence of Hooda falling primarily on his “supporter” MLAs, sources said they would take on the government and give a befitting reply for the FIR by intensifying their protests against the government while the MLAs and the former CM would battle it out in court.
“Hooda is the only Congress leader the BJP government felt threatened from. There is no truth in these allegations and cases. This is the BJP way of trying to silence its opponents. We will not let this pass. Also, the timing of the case is crucial. It was registered to keep the crowds away from Delhi where Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi were to appear in court yesterday (Saturday),” said Congress MLA Karan Dalal.
The government, on its part, is still trying to gauge the public response to its decision of registering the FIR against Hooda even as it hopes to nail the former CM in the Commission of Inquiry on land deals in Gurgaon and build up further pressure by opening inquiries on land released after the initiation of acquisition proceedings.
'No faith in govt agencies'
"We have no faith in the investigation by government agencies since these can be misused by the government. The cases against Congressmen are BJP’s way of hiding its own failures but the government cannot stifle our voices in Parliament or the Assembly or even in streets by resorting to such tactics. The party has faith in the judiciary" Ashok Tanwar, State Congress Chief
"Hooda is the only Congress leader the BJP government felt threatened from. There is no truth in these allegations and cases. This is the BJP way of trying to silence its opponents. We will not let this pass. Also, the timing of the case is crucial. It was registered to keep the crowds away from Delhi where Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi were to appear in court Saturday" Karan Dalal, Congress MLA
