Chandigarh, February 24 The Haryana Congress organized a protest march to the Vidhan Sabha here on Tuesday, targeting the BJP government in the state over several issues, including law and order, unemployment, and the plight of farmers.
The protesting Congress MLAs, led by Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda, carried placards highlighting the various issues, with some seen holding small toys ("jhunjhunas") to "wake up the government from its complacency."
Haryana Congress chief Rao Narender Singh demanded a CBI investigation into the IDFC First Bank matter.
On Sunday, IDFC First Bank reported a fraud of Rs 590 crore committed by its employees and others in accounts held by the Haryana government with the private lender.
"While the state government has said that the Anti-Corruption Bureau will investigate the matter, we demand a CBI investigation," Singh said.
Hooda claimed that while the finance department of the Haryana government has asked its departments and public sector enterprises to conduct an internal audit of their bank accounts and fixed deposits, it should have detected the fraud long ago.
Hooda also alleged that the law and order situation in Haryana has deteriorated under the BJP, with criminals roaming freely and people feeling unsafe.
"The Congress has taken to the streets to raise these pressing issues concerning the state and to wake up the government," Hooda said.
"There are so many issues – law and order, corruption, drugs, unemployment, candidates from outside securing government jobs, the paddy scam, farmers' issues, cuts in old-age pensions, etc.," Hooda said.
The Congress MLAs gathered near a roundabout and walked for nearly 1 km to reach the Vidhan Sabha gate, where they sat for several minutes.
"The BJP has been in power for 11 years, yet it blames the Congress for everything. I want to tell them that during the Congress rule, Haryana was at the top in terms of per capita income and per capita investment. Once No. 1 in all spheres, Haryana has fallen far behind under the BJP," Hooda alleged.