india

Updated: Mar 31, 2019 00:18 IST

The Congress party’s Parivartan Yatra reached Rohtak and Jhajjar, the strongholds of the former chief minister of Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and his son Deepender, on Saturday. However, in a setback to the party, two of its local leaders and former state ministers revolted against the state leadership of the Congress.

Krishan Murti Hooda, who earlier owed his allegiance to Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Subhash Batra, who had long been associated with Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Ashok Tanwar, jointly expressed their displeasure for not being given “respect” in the Congress.

The two leaders, however, brushed aside the rumours of them joining the Bharatiya Janata Party and said that they would seek time from Congress president Rahul Gandhi to lodge their complaint. “I was not even invited for the Parivartan Yatra. That is why I did not go to welcome them in Rohtak,” said Krishan Murti Hooda. Batra, on the other hand, said he was not going to quit the Congress but was keen on fighting his battle within the party.

Earlier during their roadshow in Rohtak, Congress general secretary and Haryana in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad said the Congress party has always stood for the farmers. “Sonia Gandhi had brought the historic loan waiver scheme, which allowed crores of farmers to make a fresh start. Later Rahul Gandhi brought in the Land Acquisition Act, which protected the land of the farmers. Recently, Rahul Gandhi promised that agricultural loans of the farmers will be waived of within 10 days of government formation in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Our state governments implemented them within two days of assuming charge,” he said.

Addressing the public, Hooda alleged that anti-farmer policies of the BJP had reduced them to a pitiable state, as they were being denied a fair price. “Further, the government’s policies have shot up their input prices by bringing them under the GST,” Hooda said. “Even for crops that are covered under the minimum support price, farmers are being harassed as the government has put a series of conditions before purchase,” Hooda added.

Member of Parliament from Rohtak Deepender Hooda said the NYAY scheme proposed by Rahul Gandhi would serve as the final assault on poverty.