The States
A State of Law and Disorder
What with the industrial violence at Manesar and a rising number of rape cases being reported, the image of Haryana took a beating
Naveen S Garewal

Maruti mess: Haryana saw the nation’s worst industrial violence at Maruti’s Manesar plant, where a senior executive was killed and several executives as well as workers were injured
Maruti mess: Haryana saw the nation’s worst industrial violence at Maruti’s Manesar plant, where a senior executive was killed and several executives as well as workers were injured. The losses were pegged at Rs 1400 crore. The inability of the police to control the simmering trouble drew flak and was a dampner for investors. The state government managed to persuade Maruti not to relocate

Matter of shame: Haryana Minister Gopal Krishan Kanda was named by airhostess Geetika Sharma in her suicide note
Matter of shame: Haryana Minister Gopal Krishan Kanda was named by airhostess Geetika Sharma in her suicide note

Haryana went through a roller coaster ride during 2012. From major announcements of developmental and educational projects to fall in the law and order situation and upheaval on the political front, Haryana had its share of everything. But what has struck in public memory is the frequent reports of rapes and crime against women like the abetment of suicide of air hostess Geetika Sharma by the then Haryana Minister of State for Home, Gopal Krishan Kanda.

It has been a mixed bag of good and bad for the state. While Haryana was facing agitations and protests at the hands of farmers whose land was being acquired for a Nuclear Power project, Haryana lads did the state proud by bagging the largest number of Olympic Medals in the London games. The four medal winning players were honoured by the state government with cash awards amounting to over Rs 6 crore, besides being showered with luxury cars and other expensive gifts. Haryana came too be accepted as the state that provides the best infrastructure and encouragement to its sportsmen. But at the same time with the crime graph at an all time high, the state's image has also been tarnished to an all-time low.

The state has had its share of scandals. The nation was rocked when it came to light that a local NGO "Suparna Ka Aangan" was running an orphanage without permission and several minor girls living there were found to be sexually abused. Even before the investigations could be completed, the Apna Ghar scandal case rocked Haryana. Over a 100 inmates were rescued. After the issue jolted the Hooda government, the matter was given to the CBI for investigation. similar incidents were reported from Karnal and other places.

Barely recovered from the shock of abuse of children, the national Capital Delhi saw Haryana Minister of State for Home, Gopal Krishan Kanda being mentioned in the suicide note of former air hostess Geetika Sharma, who accused Kanda of abetting suicide. Kanda finally surrendered himself and is still in jail.

Haryana saw a bureaucrat revolt for government's alleged concessions in land deals to Robert Vadra son in-law of Sonia Gandhi. Senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka exposed the DLF-Robert Vadra nexus in land deals in connivance with Haryana Government. He also cancelled Robert Vadra's mutation of land at Shikohour (Manesar) putting Haryana

Government on the back foot with the opposition parties slamming the government for helping Vadra.

The nation saw the worst industrial violence in Maruti's Manesar plant where a senior executive was killed and losses from the agitation pegged at Rs 1400 crore.

One major setback to infrastructural growth was seen when The Reliance India Limited (RIL) Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Gurgaon was shelved and Mukesh Ambani-led Company was asked by the state government to return the 1,383.68 acres of land it got from the government. Some hard decisions like going ahead with the acquiring of land for the Nuclear Power Plant despite protests and agitation by farmers of Gorakhpur in southern district of Fatehabad were taken. With an eye on the 2014 polls, the Hooda-led government has announced reservation for Jats, Jat Sikhs, Rors, Tyagis and Bishnois. The Haryana State Backward Classes Commission is also working out modalities for a ten per cent quota forward castes on economic basis. The Chief Minister has been able to marginalise his detractors like Capt Ajay Yadav, Mohinder Pratap Singh, Rao Inderjit Singh, etc. At the same time there has been a concerted effort to promote Deepinder Hooda, son of the Chief Minister and MP from Rohtak as the heir apparent. Politically the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) has also made its presence felt by holding a series of rallies along with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) MLAs defected from their party to join the Congress after the ruling party fell short of a majority on its own in the 90-member ssembly following the 2009 state elections.

The Supreme Court directed the Haryana Assembly Speaker to decide on disqualification petitions, but the matter is still pending. An efforts was also made during 2012 to develop Haryana into a education hub of international stature. The foundation stones was laid of 10 prestigious educational institutions at the Rajiv Gandhi Education City (RGEC) near Sonipat.

Healthy start: Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad lays the foundation stone of AIIMS-II at village Badhesa in Jhajjar district
Healthy start: Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad lays the foundation stone of AIIMS-II at village Badhesa in Jhajjar district		 Brutal attack: Ritu Saini, the volleyball player from Haryana, was another victim of violence when miscreants threw acid on her face
Brutal attack: Ritu Saini, the volleyball player from Haryana, was another victim of violence when miscreants threw acid on her face		 House of scandal: The Rohtak-based shelter home Apna Ghar made news when it was found that its inmates were sexually abused
House of scandal: The Rohtak-based shelter home Apna Ghar made news when it was found that its inmates were sexually abused
Stars shine again: With peace in the Valley, the stars, too, returned for shooting. Shah Rukh Khan shot for Jab Tak Hai Jaan
Stars shine again: With peace in the Valley, the stars, too, returned for shooting. Shah Rukh Khan shot for Jab Tak Hai Jaan		 Record green drive: Kimberley Dennis of the Guinness Book of World Records, London, with the Drukpa at the Hemis monastery in Ladakh
Record green drive: Kimberley Dennis of the Guinness Book of World Records, London, with the Drukpa at the Hemis monastery in Ladakh		 For the sake of reservation: The agitation of the Jats in Haryana seeking special status brought traffic to a standstill. Keeping in view the 2014 General Election, the state government gave in to their demands
For the sake of reservation: The agitation of the Jats in Haryana seeking special status brought traffic to a standstill. Keeping in view the 2014 General Election, the state government gave in to their demands


2013 a peek

  • The coming year will be viewed as a pre-election year. Haryana assembly elections are due along with the General Election. The Haryana government is unlikely to take harsh decisions to levy new taxes etc. The goverment will go slow in cracking the whip on agitators and protesters and is likely to make a concerted effort to woo the Jats who are threatening an agitation, besides cajoling farmers whose langs are being acquired for development projects.

  • The state will see a frenzy of political activity and the largesse of the state bestowed upon the common man that will decide the fate of the politicians in 2014. The next year can also see work on the DMIC project.





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