Charuni, who is also the founder of the Sanyukt Sangharsh Party, exclusively told IANS that the sole reason behind Congress' defeat in the state was former CM Hooda
Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni on Sunday said that farmers created a “favourable atmosphere” for the Congress in Haryana, the party, however, failed to capitalise on it.
Charuni, who is also the founder of the Sanyukt Sangharsh Party, while speaking to news agency IANS held former Haryana chief minister and senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda responsible for the party’s poor electoral performance in the recently-concluded elections.
“The atmosphere that was created in favour of Congress in Haryana was due to us, the farmers, but the party couldn’t make the best out of it,” Charuni said, further criticising Congress for mirroring the BJP’s approach and failing to stand with farmers.
“He is the biggest reason for Congress’ defeat because he did not compromise with anyone, and the party placed all the responsibility on him,” Charuni was quoted as saying by the news agency. He also warned the party against appointing him as the new leader of opposition when the Haryana legislative assembly convenes.
“I want to tell the Congress high command through you that if you want to become the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Haryana Assembly, then do not give the responsibility to Bhupendra Singh Hooda,” he asserted.
Reflecting on Hooda’s role over the last decade, Charuni claimed that he had failed to act as an effective opposition leader.
“The farmers’ union played the role of the opposition, not Bhupinder Singh Hooda,” he added.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said Charuni’s comments show that the farmers’ movement was ‘created’ by the Congress but it could not capitalise on it. Referring to the Congress party members as ‘andolanjeevis’, a party spokesperson said that the movement by farmers of Haryana and Punjab in opposition to the policies of the government was ‘sponsored’.
“Rahul Gandhi’s Congress’ state governments are the most anti-farmer governments. In Karnataka, Raju Kage, their MLA, has said they are anti-farmer and a farmer also committed suicide, but no words,” Shehzad Poonawalla, BJP spokesperson, said.
“They use these issues to polarise the society. A key member of the andolanjeevi ecosystem who won less than 2,000 votes has claimed that the so-called Kisan Andolan was created to create an atmosphere for the Congress in Haryana but Congress could not convert it into victory in Haryana,” Poonawalla further added.
‘If Hooda Had Compromised’
He revealed that he had warned the Congress party before the Assembly elections that Hooda would lead the party to failure and claimed that after promising farmers a ticket during the Lok Sabha elections, he did not keep his word during the recent assembly elections.
“If Hooda had compromised with Abhay Chautala and given him a ticket, Congress would have won nine seats in Haryana,” Charuni said.
The BKU chief further accused Hooda of sidelining key figures within Congress and other political allies.
“He sidelined Ramesh Dalal, who risked his life by fighting Rajiv Gandhi’s murder case, as well as Harsh Chhikara, Balraj Kundu, Kumari Selja, Kiran Choudhary, and Randeep Singh Surjewala. He sidelined the Aam Aadmi Party, Abhay Chautala, and me also, even though we helped him.”
“Rahul Gandhi had stated that priority should be given to farmer leaders in the elections. Priyanka Gandhi also mentioned that it would be beneficial if the party includes farmer leaders during the elections,” he further asserted.
Concluding his sharp criticism, Charuni stated, “In sidelining everyone, Hooda ultimately sidelined himself. God has now sidelined him, too.”
(with inputs from IANS)
