Haryana Congress seeks special Assembly session for no-trust vote against Khattar govt

The Congress in Haryana will seek the convening of a special session of the Assembly to bring a no-confidence motion against the BJP-led state government, its legislature party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said Friday.

Hooda claimed that the ML Khattar government has lost the confidence of both the people and the House, and said a Congress delegation will meet Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya soon to demand summoning of the House.

When asked if some BJP MLAs were in touch with him, the Congress leader told reporters in Gurgaon, “I cannot disclose all things before you.”

He said two Independent MLAs have already withdrawn support to the BJP-Jannayak Janta Party coalition and some JJP legislators have given statements against the government, while supporting the farmers’ protests.

“In the last session of the Vidhan Sabha, we had said the government should hold a discussion on farmers’ issues,” Hooda, who is Leader of the Opposition in the House, said.

“Now, the Congress Legislature Party has decided to meet the Governor and urge him to convene a special session of the Vidhan Sabha to discuss farmers’ problems,” he said.

“We will bring a no-confidence motion because the present government has not only lost the confidence of the people, but of the House.”

Independent MLAs Balraj Kundu and Sombir Sangwan had earlier withdrawn support to the BJP-JJP government, which completed a year in office over a month ago.

But Hooda claimed that some MLAs are playing a “double role”, making statements against the government but are continuing to support the government. “This will make it clear who stands with the farmers,” he said, referring to the planned no-trust motion.

He said while farmers are on the streets, the JJP and some Independent MLAs continue to enjoy the fruits of power.

Hooda said when the assembly convenes, the Congress will also seek an amendment to guarantee the minimum support price (MSP) with punishment for those purchasing crops below it.

At present, the Khattar government enjoys a comfortable majority in the 90-member State Assembly.

The BJP has 40 MLAs and its ally JJP 10. There are 31 Congress MLAs and one each from the Indian National Lok Dal and Haryana Lokhit Party.

Seven members are Independents, out of whom five, including Power Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala, support the ruling combine.

Hooda said Khattar has “insulted” farmers by saying that those from Haryana are not part of the protest at Delhi’s borders.

“Not only this, one of his ministers rubbed salt on the wounds of farmers by saying the current agitation is foreign-funded. He should immediately apologise for his remarks,” he demanded.

The 73-year-old former chief minister said he has not seen a bigger farmers’ agitation in his entire life.

Thousands of farmers – mostly from Punjab but many from Haryana – are now protesting at Delhi’s borders, demanding the repeal of three agri-marketing laws enacted at the Centre in September.

Farmer unions say the new laws will lead to the dismantling of the MSP system, which the government denies.

“The Central government should immediately accept their demands, otherwise more problems may arise,” Hooda said.

At a separate press conference in Chandigarh, Haryana Congress president Kumari Selja said if the Centre does not repeal the farm laws, her party will do so when it comes to power.

She said those in JJP and BJP who are with the farmers' should stop supporting the government.

She said the Congress will fight the December 27 municipal bodies’ elections in the state on its party symbol.