In a pointed rebuke from Chandigarh, ex-Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda has branded the detention of Youth Congress head Uday Bhanu Chib as the BJP’s frantic cover for governance lapses. The arrest, followed by police remand, came during protests urging MGNREGA’s revival, igniting charges of authoritarianism.
‘There’s no justification for arresting the chief over workers’ demonstrations,’ Hooda told media. He portrayed it as panic-stricken retaliation against criticism, violating constitutional freedoms. ‘This suppressive tactic by a power-hungry regime aims to bury failures, but democracy demands open opposition,’ he asserted.
Central to the uproar: the BJP’s recent axing of MGNREGA, stripping jobs from 8 lakh rural workers—a scheme Hooda hailed as essential for the underprivileged, aligned with Gandhian ideals. Congress planned a full assembly encirclement to press the demand.
State Congress president Rao Narendra Singh decried the preemptive house arrests of activists statewide. ‘Intimidating peaceful gatherings betrays fear of public sentiment. Democracies converse; dictators stifle,’ he said. Rallying spirits, Singh affirmed unwavering commitment: ‘We halt for none, bend to none. The people’s cause endures.’
As recriminations fly, this confrontation lays bare rifts in Haryana politics, foreshadowing fiercer contests.