Khattar says Jat quota bill in assembly soon

CHANDIGARH: Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday said the state government would introduce a bill to grant reservation to Jats, Jat Sikhs, Tyagis, Bishnois and Rors in the budget session of the state assembly, beginning March 14.

In a statement, Khattar said the existing 27% reservation for backward classes (BCS) in Haryana will not be disturbed.

The chief minister said a five-member committee under the chairmanship of the chief secretary has been constituted to prepare the draft of the bill to grant reservation to the five castes under the ambit of the Constitution.

Khattar said an all-party committee was also being constituted to give suggestions for drafting the bill. He urged the presidents of all registered political parties to send the names of their representatives to the government to be included in the committee.

He said in case the all-party committee was able to draft the new bill unanimously, it would be passed in the Vidhan Sabha without any discussion.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi targeted the Narendra Modi government on Saturday for failing to deliver on the promises made during the PM’S “marketing bombardment” campaigns. He was addressing an election rally at Barghat Chariali in Nagaon district of Assam.

While ridiculing the Modi government’s much-hyped development rhetoric, Gandhi gave the analogy of a friend who ordered a computer after seeing its advertisement on the Internet. But when the packet arrived, he opened it to find only a piece of wood inside. The friend has since been seeking a refund.

“This is exactly what is happening to the country. Modi came up with big ideas and good marketing strategy for these, but there was no product. Today, India is asking for a refund.”

Attacking the Modi government on its promise to bring back ‘black money’ stashed abroad, Gandhi said finance minister Arun Jaitley had announced a ‘Fair and Lovely’ scheme, which was nothing but an attempt to turn black money into white.

The Congress vice-president said that instead of giving a straight reply to the four queries he posed to the prime minister in Parliament, the latter launched a personal attack on him.

Referring to the budget proposal for taxing employee’s provident fund, Gandhi said it was another example of the Modi government’s anti-poor policy and added that it should be withdrawn. Touching on the JNU controversy, Gandhi claimed that students’ union leader Kanhaiya Kumar had not uttered a single word against India in his speech. “I was present there. I will continue to support the JNU students’ stir,” he added.

While he praised chief minister Tarun Gogoi for restoring peace in Assam during his 15-year stint, Gandhi took a swipe at the BJP for the largescale violence in Haryana, a state he claimed was peaceful under previous Congress regime. “Wherever they go, they create clashes,” He said.

In the upcoming assembly poll in Assam, the Congress is facing a stiff challenge from a surging BJP, which has already stitched up alliances with four regional parties, including the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), to dislodge the incumbent Tarun Gogoi regime.