'Felt happy like family elder': Manohar Lal Khattar on Nayab Singh Saini taking over as Haryana CM

Chandigarh: Former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday said when Nayab Singh Saini succeeded him, it gave him the same happiness which any elder of a family will get.

The BJP last week replaced Khattar, 69, with OBC leader Saini, 54, as Haryana's chief minister in a swift switch in the state.

Addressing a rally in Karnal district's Gharaunda, Khattar while referring to the change at the helm in Haryana, said, "I am very happy today. I am feeling the same happiness which an elder of a family does..."

BJP president J P Nadda was also supposed to attend the event, but a functionary said he could not come due to some party engagements.

Khattar said change is part of life. "Changes keep happening, including in the political arena," he said.

He, however, indicated that the decision to effect the change in leadership was not a sudden one.

"It is not that it happened suddenly. For one year, I had been telling leadership that this is right time... bring a new face." said Khattar.

That wish was fulfilled last week and the party MLAs unanimously decided that Kurukshetra MP Saini will be the next chief minister, he said.

"As disciplined soldiers of the BJP, we are ready to play any role. Our concern is to take the state and the country ahead," he further said.

The senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader said one sees power tussle which goes on in other parties. "Factionalism is seen in the Congress, including in Haryana," he said.

Targeting the opposition in Haryana, Khattar said earlier when he became the chief minister in 2014, the opposition used to say he lacks experience and how will he run government.

"We did not have experience of indulging in loot like they did. But I had the experience of serving people for 40 years then... They criticise our portals, our flagship schemes like Parivar Pehchan Patra and other schemes, and say they will shut them down if they come to power.

"I want to remind them that various sections of people who are benefitting due to these schemes will teach them a lesson in the polls," said the former chief minister.

Khattar, who resigned as an MLA from Karnal, has been made a party candidate to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Karnal.

"When I resigned from Karnal, I told the party high command that Karnal has got a tag of 'CM city' and proposed that Saini should contest from there," Khattar said.

Addressing the gathering, Saini said it was Khattar who held his finger and guided him in his political career.

He said Khattar has worked hard to take the state forward.

He said so many schemes were formulated during Khattar's tenure for the welfare of various sections including poor and weaker sections.

The chief minister also said the people of Haryana, like in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, will give all the 10 seats to 'Modi ji's kitty' this time too.