Chandigarh, March 27 – Former Haryana Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition, Bhupinder Hooda, stated on Friday that the Congress would file a complaint with the Election Commission against the Returning Officer who allegedly manipulated the recently held Rajya Sabha elections by canceling four votes belonging to the party.
He demanded that the Election Commission take immediate action on this matter.
Hooda told the media here that the Rajya Sabha elections once again demonstrated that the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) could never challenge the BJP.
"This time, the INLD did not vote because they knew that the Congress's victory was certain. Despite the cancellation and cross-voting, the Congress received 28 votes, while the BJP-backed Independent candidate received only 16 votes."
The Congress lawmaker stated that even if the INLD had voted for an Independent, the Congress's victory would still have been assured.
Speaking on the shortage of LPG, petrol, and diesel in the country, Hooda said that for many years, the BJP government had charged double the tax on petrol and diesel compared to the Congress regime.
"Now, the excise duty is being reduced in a way that does not benefit the public. Instead, fuel prices are continuously rising."
The two-time Chief Minister also questioned, "If the government is saying there is no shortage of LPG, then why are there long queues of people everywhere?"
He also blamed the BJP government for the cooking gas shortage in Haryana and said that the government has not yet clarified the situation.
Hooda said that law and order in the state has completely collapsed under the BJP government. Haryana is the most unsafe state in the entire country, as revealed by the Central Government's own Social Progress Index.
Referring to the Rs 590 crore scam in IDFC Bank and the Rs 160 crore scam in Panchkula Municipal Corporation, he asked, "It is still not known under whose signature the scam took place and who is responsible."
He demanded that a thorough investigation be conducted, that the names of the culprits be revealed, and that strict action be taken against them.
Raising the issue of the scam worth thousands of crores in paddy procurement, Hooda said that people in high positions are involved, but the government is deliberately trying to implicate lower-level employees, while the real culprits are being protected.