Kiran Choudhry, Leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in Haryana, has flayed the Manohar Lal Khattar Government for taking a U-turn on such key issues as implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report on agriculture, and the promises made to the employees before the Assembly elections which amounts to stabbing them in the back. And the U-turn was taken on the two key issues on a single day, yesterday.In a statement issued here today, the two-time former Minister said that the stand taken by the Agriculture, Development and Panchayats Minister, Mr O.P. Dhankhar, that the Swaminathan Commission report on agriculture will have to await implementation for want of funds, not only militates against the tough stand taken by the BJP when the Congress was in power but also exposes the double standards of Mr Dhankar.
“It is an open secret that has been pressing the UPA Government hard for implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, especially for MSP which is 50 per cent more than the cost of production of farmers. Even the party manifesto made this promise. Besides, Mr Dhankar, who claims to be a leader of the farmers and happens to be president of the Kisan Wing of BJP, led many an agitation on the issue. But after becoming Agriculture Minister, he has gone back on everything baring his anti-farmer fangs and true face of the BJP”, Ms Choudhry said.What’s more, the BJP had promised that if voted to power, the party will get the state government employees’ pay-scales on Punjab pattern and double the social security pension to Rs 2,000 per month.
But throwing all these promises to the four winds, the Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal, said in Sirsa yesterday that the employees would have to live on what they are getting and should not expect more.“This amounts to stabbing the government employees in the back. It shows the hollowness of the promises made by the BJP on the eve of the polls. It increased the social security pension by just Rs 200 per month instead of doubling it to Rs 2,000, and is now telling the employees that they should not expect anything. The party has begun to show its real face and it is not long before the people will begin to rue their decision to vote for the party in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls”, Ms Choudhry added.