With a week left for the upcoming Haryana state Assembly session, the ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition party are strategising in a bid to corner each other. The primary Opposition, Congress is mulling a strategy to raise several issues such as the Nuh riots, heavy losses due to floods, goof-ups in the Common Eligibility Test (CET) and the law and order situation in the state. The has continued to accuse the BJP-led government of communal riots in Nuh district where violence erupted on 31 July and subsequently spread to other districts. Congress stalwart Bhupender Singh Hooda has especially left no stone unturned in attacking the BJP and its ally Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) over these issues. State BJP leaders in response, have defended the government, saying the state government successfully controlled the riots with timely efforts. Pertaining to the issue, the Congress along with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
has also attempted to take a jibe at the government, claiming that there have been a lot of
contradictions between statements issued by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Home Minister Anil Vij and Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala and have gone so far as to claim that the riots were “completely sponsored” by the government. The BJP, on the other hand,
has maintained that the violence was the result of a conspiracy hatched by the Congress and AAP. The Congress continues the incident as a failure of the BJP-JJP government,
stating that it is the responsibility of the government to provide security to the people of the state and maintain law and order. According to Hooda, the government has “admitted” that conditions of conflict were simmering, but despite the government having all the information, it did not take timely steps. The government, in turn, lashed out at the Congress for politicising the matter and promised strict action against the culprits after the investigation concludes. With tensions on the rise among both parties, there is bound to be a tussle in the Assembly, especially since the BJP has besieged Congress MLA Maman Khan for past statements on the matter. Apart from this, the matter of repetition of questions in the CET exam is also a point of contention. The Congress is questioning the government
and the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSCC) over the repetition of questions in the CET, adding that the HSSC’s credibility is “at stake”. The state government and the HSSC defended themselves stating that action will be taken against the company which was given the responsibility of preparing the question paper as a show cause notice has already been sent to the company and there is a chance that the company will be blacklisted.