M A I N   N E W S

Congress steps in to resolve rebellious mood in Haryana
Naveen S Garewal/TNS

Quelling dissent Panipat (Urban) MLA Balbir Pal Shah has been forced to take back his resignation given on Thursday The hostility between Birender Singh and Bhupinder Singh Hooda has eased The high command has asked the state unit to submit a report on Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh’s recent ‘utterances’ against Hooda

Chandigarh, August 16
Almost a year ahead of the Vidhan Sabha election, Haryana is witnessing hectic political activity that may see emergence of new alignments.

The ruling Congress that has seen considerable infighting in the recent past is now beginning to show signs of calm. This comes after the Congress high command issued a strong warning to those trying to dent the party’s image.

Panipat (Urban) legislator Balbir Pal Shah has been forced to take back his resignation, which he announced in Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s presence last night.

As a goodwill gesture, Hooda has decided to hold the launch of the state-level function for the introduction of the national food security scheme at Panipat on August 20.

The rebellion by Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh against the Chief Minister, accusing him of shielding builders in the national capital region (NCR), has met with firm rebuke from the Congress high command that has asked the state Congress to submit a report on his “utterances”.

The high command has indicated that it is proposing some action against the Gurgaon MP. At the same time, there appears to be an ease in the hostility between cousins Birender Singh and Hooda.

Birender has been critical of Hooda, accusing him of making him lose the last general election from Uchanna Kalan (against Om Prakash Chautala) and then engineering his exclusion from the last Union Cabinet.

But the two have reportedly mended fences over a luncheon meeting in Parliament last week. While Birender is going ahead with his rally in Jind on August 20, it is learnt that Congress president Sonia Gandhi will stay away.

With IAS officer Ashok Khemka cancelling the change in land use mutation of 3.7 acres in Gurgaon involving Robert Vadra after having termed it “illegal”, there is growing demand by the BJP and other parties for the matter to be investigated.

Hooda who has always been well-entrenched in the state politics is now seen as a saviour for the party’s image and hence has gained a stronger say in Delhi.

As a consequence, other politicians who were pursuing an anti-Hooda line have been forced to take a back seat, at least for the time being.