25,000 appointments will be made before taking oath, says outgoing Haryana CM

Chandigarh, Oct 11 (IANS) Days ahead of the BJP to form the government in Haryana for the third time, outgoing Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday said 25,000 appointments would be made before the oath-taking ceremony next week. 

Taking a jibe at the main Opposition, he said the Congress never rose above corruption and dynastic politics.

“In the past, they had won power by deceiving people in several states, including Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, and others. The Congress has lost its credibility,” Saini, who in all probability will take the oath of office as the Chief Minister at a ceremony in Panchkula on October 15, told the media.

Congratulating the people and party workers on the formation of the BJP government for the third time, Saini expressed gratitude to the public for their support and announced that in line with a pre-election promise the examination results for 25,000 posts would be released soon even before the oath-taking ceremony.

On his visit to grain markets in the Kurukshetra district, he assured the farmers that every single grain would be procured. Also, he assured timely payments of the procurement. He said the government is committed to protecting the interests of farmers.

“All basic facilities have been provided in the markets so that farmers face no difficulties in selling their crops. Additionally, the timely lifting of paddy from the markets will also be ensured,” said Saini.

The Chief Minister visited the grain markets of Pipli, Ladwa and Babain in Kurukshetra district.

The Chief Minister also checked the moisture content of the paddy using a moisture meter during his visit. He interacted with farmers, arhtiyas and representatives of farmer unions to gather information about the paddy procurement process.

The Chief Minister said the farmers are free to sell their crops at any market. He also directed officers concerned that the farmers should not face any problems in the markets.

BJP leader Saini is likely to take oath as the Chief Minister of Haryana in Panchkula’s parade ground on October 15 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several Union Ministers, Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states and party’s top functionaries likely to attend the ceremony.

A 10-member committee headed by the Panchkula District Commissioner has been set up by the Chief Secretary to make arrangements for the oath-taking ceremony.

Saini had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior BJP leaders in Delhi on Wednesday after scoring a spectacular hat-trick in Haryana by winning 48 seats, 11 more than the Congress.

Caretaker Chief Minister Saini, under whose leadership the party fought the high-octane electoral battle and overcame a 10-year anti-incumbency, may be retained as the CM, party leaders believe.

The BJP won a landslide majority by winning 48 seats in a House of 90. The Congress was the second largest party with 37 seats, while the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) got only two seats. Independent candidates who got three seats, extended unconditional support to the BJP, whereas Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) and Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) drew a blank.

The BJP Legislature Party is likely to meet a day ahead of the oath-taking ceremony in Chandigarh to elect its leader who will be the state’s new Chief Minister, most probably Saini, 54, a non-Jat but Other Backward Classes (OBC) leader. Saini had replaced BJP veteran Manohar Lal Khattar as the Chief Minister in March, just two months before the Lok Sabha elections.

Caretaker Chief Minister Saini won the Ladwa Assembly seat by 16,054 votes, defeating his nearest rival and Congress candidate Mewa Singh.

Eight out of 10 ministers in the outgoing Saini cabinet faced defeat. The two who won were Mahipal Dhanda and Mool Chand Sharma from Panipat Rural and Ballabhgarh seats, respectively.

The party’s seven-time lawmaker, Anil Vij, is the seniormost in the party. He is among the frontrunners for a Cabinet berth, apart from Dalit lawmakers like six-time MLA Krishan Lal Panwar (Israna) and two-time MLA Krishan Bedi (Narwana), both loyalists of former Chief Minister Khattar.

The women prospective Cabinet Ministers include first-timers Arti Rao (Ateli), daughter of Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, and Shruti Chaudhry (Tosham), daughter of Rajya Sabha member Kiran Chaudhry. Arti is an OBC while Shruti represents the Jat community.