IEP Chandigarh, January 25
The Congress continues to grow after the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Haryana as a large number of former MLAs and senior leaders from other parties continue to join the party under the leadership of former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda and State President Chaudhary Udaybhan.
Shiv Shankar Bhardwaj, former MLA and JJP candidate from Bhiwani, former minister from Jind Late Mangeram Gupta’s son and JJP candidate Mahavir Gupta, State Vice President of BJP Kisan Cell Satish Rana, Maharaj Sukhbir Das, Naveen Sangwan, Kapil Sharma and Rajendra Sharma along with half a dozen leaders joined Congress along with hundreds of their workers.
The joining ceremony took place in the meeting of party delegates, MLAs, former MLAs, working presidents and senior leaders convened at the state Congress office for ‘Haath se Jodo Haath’ campaign. Bhupinder Hooda and Chaudhary Udaybhan welcomed all the leaders to the party.
He said in the last few months, more than 15 former MLAs of other parties including BJP-JJP and about 50 big leaders have joined the Congress. “Leaving the ruling parties, the leaders and workers are joining the Congress. This shows that the coming time in the state belongs to the Congress and this time the people are definitely going to vote for a Congress government in the state,” he said.
Former Delhi Congress President and senior leader Subhash Chopra, who has been made Haryana’s convenor for ‘Hath Se Hath Jodo’ campaign, was present in the meeting. He congratulated all the leaders and workers for the success of Bharat Jodo Yatra in Haryana. “The yatra has given a new direction to the country and the party. This direction has to be taken to every village, booth and every house under the campaign ‘Haath se Jodo Haath’,” he said.
“The misdeeds of the central and state government have to be exposed in front of the public. The Bhupinder Singh Hooda government had made Haryana the number one state in terms of development in the whole country. That is why we have to make Haryana the number one state in the country by electing a Congress government again,” he added.
Addressing the meeting, PCC president Chaudhary Udaybhan said Congress has got tremendous strength in the state due to Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. “The ‘Haath Se Hath Jodo’ campaign starting right after this, will pave the way for Congress’s victory in 2024, because the BJP at the Center and the BJP-JJP government of Haryana have betrayed every section,” he said.
He said the campaign will be formally started in the whole country from the 26th. “In Haryana too, meetings will be held in all the blocks till 31st. This program will run for 2 months and during this time the Congress will tell the people about the failures of the government,” he said.
Along with this, the charge sheet prepared by the Congress against the government will be made available to the public. “The BJP government has done exactly the opposite of the promises it had made before coming to power. Till now this government’s policy has been the same – support of some, development of oneself and betrayal of all,” he stated.
Bhupinder Singh Hooda thanked all the leaders and workers present in the meeting for making ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ a success. He said the participation of lakhs of people everywhere in the Yatra proved that the people are looking at the Congress as an alternative.
He also called upon everyone to join the ‘Hath Se Hath Jodo’ campaign with enthusiasm and hard work like a yatra. He said if the party leaders and workers go among the public, they should not only know about their problems but also tell what kind of decisions will be taken if the Congress government is formed in future.
“For example, when our workers go to the village and booth level, they should find out whose ration card and whose pension has been cut by the BJP-JJP government, so that the facility can be reinstated after the formation of the Congress government,” he said.
Hooda told reporters that today a resolution in support of sugarcane farmers and condemning the nominal rate hike by the government was passed in the meeting. He said the farmers are demanding a rate of Rs 450 per quintal and their demand is completely justified. At least the rate of Rs 400 should have been given by the government without delay. He reminded that the rate of sugarcane was increased by 165% during the Congress regime, but BJP has increased only by 20% during 8 and a half years. He said the nominal rate hike is a dirty joke with the farmers.
