CM Manohar Lal Khattar has made a significant move by broadening the investigation into the Rs 100 crore cooperative scam in Haryana. His decision to audit the Integrated Cooperative Development Project (ICDP) of the Cooperative Department from 1995 onwards has surprised even the Congress party.
The CM has taken this decision when the opposition is preparing to corner him in the Assembly by using this scam as a shield. This time the opposition is going to bring a no-confidence motion against the government in the budget session starting from February 20. Its basis has been made on this scam itself.
But, now the investigation will not only be on the previous tenure of CM Manohar, but also on the tenure of 4 former Chief Ministers of the state. This also includes the tenure of former Chief Minister and current Leader of Opposition Bhupendra Singh Hooda. Along with him, the grants sent by the Central and State Government during the tenure of former CM Bhajan Lal, Bansilal Omprakash Chautala and current CM Manohar Lal will be investigated.
Due to the increased scope of investigation, many big bureaucrats will also be included in it. Since 1995, 31 IAS have been registrars in the Cooperative Department. During this period, Rs 270 crore has been released in 19 districts of the state.
After the CM’s decision, the Cooperative Department will investigate this scam at its own level. Private chartered accounting firms will conduct its forensic investigation and audit. This investigation will be completed in 3 months. That means, the real truth of this scam will be revealed to everyone even before the Lok Sabha elections.
Since, the grants issued in the Cooperative Department have not been audited for 29 years. In such a situation, the amount of the scam is likely to increase much beyond Rs 100 crore.
After the scam came to light, Congress has also made full preparations to corner the government. The party’s strategy is to corner the government in the budget session of Haryana and bring a no-confidence motion. A decision regarding this has been taken in the legislature party meeting held in Chandigarh on Wednesday. This will be the second no-confidence motion against the Khattar government.
In this meeting chaired by former CM Bhupendra Singh Hooda, it was decided to make Ayushman, mining and FPO scam also an issue. Apart from this, answers will also be sought from the government on issues like unemployment in the state, irregularities in Skill Employment Corporation, sending youth to war zone Israel, giving priority to outsiders in Haryana’s recruitment, recruitment scams and Agneepath Scheme.