Hooda targets Saini govt over 'Non-Stop Haryana' slogan, CM hits back

Chandigarh: Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda has said the Nayab Singh Saini government should change its "Non-Stop Haryana" slogan to "Full Stop Haryana" and alleged that the BJP regime has put a "full stop on investments, industrial development, job creation, crop prices" in the state.

"If there is anything non-stop in the BJP government, it is unemployment, inflation, crime, drug addiction and migration of youth," the leader of opposition in the Haryana Assembly said in a statement issued here on Tuesday.

His remarks were in reference to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government coming up with the "Mahra Haryana, Non-Stop Haryana" slogan ahead of the state Assembly polls due later in the year.

Under the slogan, the Saini government has been spelling out the initiatives launched for various sections of the society and pointing towards the rapid progress the state has made in the last 10 years.

Over the last few days, the state government has issued newspaper advertisements, touching upon several initiatives for various sections of the society, including the poor, farmers and women.

Saini hit back at the former chief minister on Wednesday, saying, "Bhupinder Hoodaji, my Haryana today is non-stop Haryana." In a post in Hindi on X, the chief minister took a dig at the Congress regime (2005-2014) in the state led by Hooda, and claimed that a full stop has now been put on goondaism, atrocities against Dalits and backward classes, auction of government jobs, taking away farmers' land and the reign of terror that prevailed when the grand old party was in power.

"If there has been a full stop, that is only on your politics," Saini further said.

In his statement, Hooda said during the Congress era, big institutions like a health university, six medical colleges, an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and a cancer institute were built in the state, besides 641 rural hospitals and community and primary health centres.

"But as soon as the BJP came to power, it put a full stop on this work being done in the health sector and did not build any major health institution in the state," he claimed.

Hooda also said the Congress-led government in Haryana had built 12 government universities, a central university, 154 polytechnic colleges, 56 industrial training institutes, four engineering colleges, the Rajiv Gandhi Education City, the Babasaheb Ambedkar Law University and about 2,500 government schools.

"But as soon as the BJP came to power in 2014, it put a full stop on the expanding education system in the state," he alleged.

Hooda also accused the BJP of putting a full stop on the welfare scheme of free allotment of plots of 100 square yards to poor, Scheduled Caste (SC) and Other Backward classes (OBC) families started by the previous Congress regime.

He said more than two lakh jobs were given in all government departments during the Congress government, "but today, more than two lakh permanent posts are lying vacant in Haryana".

Hooda said during the Congress regime, six industrial model townships were built and big industries set up in Haryana.

"The BJP put a full stop on this industrial development of the state and industries started migrating from here," he alleged.

Saini had recently slammed the Congress over its ongoing "Haryana Maange Hisab" campaign, calling it a "Jhooth Ki Yatra", and accused the opposition party of spreading lies.

The chief minister had said the Congress should give an account of its 10-year rule during which, he alleged, corruption and nepotism prevailed.

The Congress on July 15 launched the "Haryana Maange Hisab" campaign, under which it is targeting the ruling BJP on several fronts, including unemployment, law and order and farmers' issues.