Haryana Diary: Narnaund MLA Ram Kumar Gautam as ever is unstoppable

Hisar: Narnaund MLA Ram Kumar Gautam is known for his outbursts and witty political comments. The MLA, who had got the JJP ticket in 2019, had fallen out with party leader Dushyant Chautala almost immediately after the elections. Though mostly complimentary of former CM Khattar in public, Gautam pulled out all stops to criticise him in a recent event in Talwandi Rana village of Hisar. The event was attended by Haryana Health Minister Kamal Gupta also. Gautam questioned Khattar’s style of operating, and stated that the ex-CM was never concerned about the demands Gautam raised for the construction of a road from the village to Hisar. At this, Gupta rose from his chair in an attempt to stop him — but Gautam, as ever, was unstoppable!

AAP turncoat causing chaos

Yamunanagar: AAP leader Adarsh Pal recently joined the Congress in the presence of former CM Bhupinder Hooda in Delhi, causing uneasiness among some senior party leaders, as it’s clear he’d stake his claim for the party ticket for the Jagadhri Assembly constituency. He had contested the 2019 Assembly poll for this seat on a BSP ticket and bagged 47,988 votes. Former Deputy Speaker of Haryana Assembly, Akram Khan, former minister Subhash Chaudhary and some other leaders are also strong contenders for the Jagadhri ticket. Political observers say Adarsh’s advent will affect the careers and mental state of some senior party leaders — if he gets the ticket, there would be anger and disappointment in their ranks.

CM shows confidence in Bathla

Karnal: CM Nayab Singh Saini has shown confidence in Sanjay Bathla, the former representative of ex-CM Manohar Lal Khattar in the Karnal Assembly segment, by appointing him as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD). Bathla previously worked in Karnal, addressing public issues. In his new role as an OSD, Bathla will continue to work in the city, and look after administrative and developmental projects. Saini’s decision to appoint a Khattar aide is being seen as a strategic move to strengthen the party cadre in this Assembly segment — a constituency represented by Saini himself. Political analysts say this appointment will help the party increase its support base in the upcoming elections.

All’s not well in AAP in Haryana

Ambala: All seems to be not going well for the Aam Aadmi Party in Haryana, for reports suggest there are rifts in the party, often reflecting in public events. The party faced embarrassment during an event to launch the party’s Assembly poll campaign, when an AAP worker protested against state president Sushil Gupta in the presence of the party’s national general secretary (organisation), Sandeep Pathak. An AAP leader said it hadn’t been smooth sailing for the party for some time, and now problems are coming to the fore for all to see. The solution: The senior leadership in Delhi must act before it’s too late.

Saini on the phone with Gurugram

Gurugram: Several Gurugram residents got a huge surprise when they received phone calls from CM Saini, who sought to know if their problems had been resolved. The CM, who was in Gurugram to hold a grievance committee meeting earlier this week, had been told that many complainants had not attended the meeting. Upon enquiry, he was informed by officials that their problems had been resolved. To be absolutely certain, he personally spoke to them to enquire about the status of their complaints — and many residents refused to believe that it was the CM on the line! Some hung up, thinking it was a prank. But those who did chat with him were pleasantly surprised by the CM’s solicitousness, for their biggest complaint had been the government’s indifference towards their daily problems.

Contributed by Deepender Deswal, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Parveen Arora, Nitish Sharma and Sumedha Sharma