New Delhi: Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda has said since the Congress went out of power a decade ago, the state has been on a downward spiral. Enumerating the sectors where the Congress left Haryana in the Number One spot, he told NDTV in an exclusive interview that it was per capita income, investment, employment, law and order and sports.
"Now, Haryana is Number One in unemployment. Law and order is going out of their hands. The Social Progressive Index has declared Haryana as unsafe unsecured state. And our team of women wrestlers, who brought name and fame to the country, are sitting on protest in Jantar Mantar and still not getting justice," he told NDTV.
Last but not the least are the farmers and government employees, "all of whom are on protest mode".
Regarding the pension of government employees, he said the BJP-led government at the Centre should have reverted to the Old Pension Scheme that was in place before the New Pension Scheme was brought in by the government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2004.
Asked whether he welcomed the new UPS scheme the government is bringing in, the response was emphatic. "They should have gone for the OPS," which, he said, the Congress has promised to the people in Haryana.
The other big issue in this election is that of farmers, who form the largest voting bloc in the state. Last time, the new outfit JJP (Jannayak Janta Party) of Dushyant Chautala had scooped up 14 per cent of votes eating into the Congress share, and won 10 seats.
But since then, the party has faced the brunt of the farmers' anger, It failed to win a single seat in the Lok Sabha election. The party has blamed it on the anti-incumbency against the BJP, with which its partnership has ended.
Mr Hooda indicated that it was not a surprise.
"In 2014 and 2024, the BJP promised they will be doubling the income of farmers by 2022. But what happened? The income of farmers has not doubled. But the cost of input has gone up manifold," he said. As example, he cited the cost of diesel, fertiliser, and pesticides.
Haryana will have a single-phase election on October 1. The votes will be counted on October 4.
In 2019, the BJP had won 40 of the state's 90 assembly seats and formed government with the JJP, which won 10. The Congress won 31 seats.