The Haryana Congress got into an election mode in the State with a rally at Radaur town in Yamunanagar district by former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday. The rally also became the first as part of the party’s programme to hold similar public meetings across 90 assembly constituencies ahead of the Parliamentary election next year.
Deputy Congress legislative party leader Aftab Ahmed told The Hindu that the campaign dubbed as “Congress Lao, Desh Bachchao (Elect Congress, Protect Country)” and its concomitant rallies, called as ‘Jan Aakrosh Rally’, would aim at highlighting the people’s resentment against unemployment, corruption, crime and farmers’ plight, among other issues.
Mr. Ahmed, who is part of the 11-member campaign committee, said the Congress Legislative Party leader, State unit president, and area MLA, among others, would be present at these rallies. He added that consent was received from half-a-dozen MLAs for rallies in their respective assembly constituencies and the campaign would be accordingly scheduled.
Speaking at the rally, which coincided with the ‘Haryana Day’, Mr. Hooda reiterated the party’s promises for subsidised cooking gas cylinders, Old Pension Scheme and hike in Old Age Pension. “When the Congress government comes to power in the state, Old Age Pension will be the highest in the country at ₹6,000. On the lines of Rajasthan, we will give gas cylinders for ₹500 and implement Old Pension Scheme,” he said.
Mr. Hooda said the party at its Raipur convention had adopted the resolution for legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price to the farmers. With Yamunanagar being one of the largest sugarcane producers in Haryana, Mr. Hooda, said his government had increased the support price for the crop from ₹117 to ₹310 per quintal, but the successive governments had hiked it by meagre ₹5 per quintal. Mr. Hooda said he demanded the government to hike the sugarcane support price to ₹450 per quintal and promised to offer similar price if his party was voted to power.
Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda said only seven months were left in the present regime’s tenure, and it was time for the people to evaluate its performance to decide if they wanted a change.
The next rally will be held at Israna.
