Govt forced protesters to take tough stand, say Oppn leaders
Abhay Chautala, Hooda defend Jat leaders’ call for nonpayment of power and water bills, saying Khattar govt’s actions left them with no other option
ROHTAK: Opposition leaders in Haryana, who have extended their support to the ongoing Jat agitation and even joined dharnas in various parts of the state, are defending the protesters’ call for non-payment of power and water bills, saying the Manohar Lal Khattar government’s actions left them with no other option but to take a tough stand.
“They (protesters) don’t want to take such decisions. But what other option has the government left for them?” asked Abhay Chautala, INLD MLA and leader of the Opposition in Haryana assembly.
“The government has been fooling the community by making false promises but delivering nothing. Jats have been sitting on peaceful dharnas for over 20 days. Now, they have realised that the government is not willing to help them and rather its wants to add fuel to the fire. This justifies their launch of non-cooperation movement. They needed such a course of action to demonstrate their resolve on the issue,” he said.
Senior Congress leader and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who along with his faction of MLAs in the Congress had backed the Jat stir, said he supported all the legitimate demands of the community.
Asked if the protesters’ call for non-payment of power and water bills was legitimate, Hooda also blamed the government for the tough stand of Jat leaders.
“What is the reason behind their decision to announce the non-cooperation movement? It is the Khattar government and its false promises. Had the government fulfilled their demands as promised by it, the protesters would not have been forced to take this decision,” Hooda said.
The call for non-cooperation was given by Jat leader Yashpal Malik on Sunday to intensify the ongoing struggle to press for their demands, including reservation for the community and withdrawal of police cases against protesters in connection with the quota stir of February last year.
The rural areas in several Haryana districts have been infamous for not paying power bills and harassing the power discom employees when they visit villages to cut their connections.
The call for the movement could spell more trouble for the government that has been reeling under a huge debt burden ever since it came into power.
It can also cause a setback to ‘Mhara Gaon Jagmag Gaon’ scheme introduced by the chief minister to encourage people to pay their pending electricity bills.