Bhupinder Singh Hooda sets up 25-member panel to decide his future

ROHTAK: Making his rebellion public for the first time, Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said he would not hesitate to take a bold decision but stopped short of quitting the party on Sunday.
He also openly supported the Modi government’s decision to scrap provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution and revoke the special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
“I come from a family of freedom fighters. Though my party and colleagues spoke against it, I supported the Union government’s decision because soldiers who are serving in J&K belong to Haryana. The Congress seems to have lost its way on this issue,” said the 72-year-old leader at his Maha Parivartan Rally in Rohtak on Sunday. “When the government does something right, I support it.”
Contrary to expectations, neither did Hooda announce his own political outfit and nor did he opt to join Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party. Instead, he bargained for some more time by promising to form a 25-member committee, comprising 12 MLAs and 13 others, who would decide the “future course of action.” He said he could not take the decision alone as it would affect the future of people of Haryana as he addressed huge crowds of supporters, including 12 Congress MLAs and former legislators, without the Congress flag and photographs of the party’s senior leaders in the backdrop.
Hooda said that within a week he would announce the committee’s decision, a move that sources said would give the Congress central leadership time to replace state party unit chief Ashok Tanwar and give him full reins for the upcoming assembly polls in Haryana as he has been demanding.
Referring to a law in Andhra Pradesh that makes it mandatory for the government to employ three out of four employees from within the state, Hooda promised a similar legislation in Haryana. “If we form the government, we will bring a law like Andhra Pradesh, so that 75% of jobs go to the people of Haryana,” said Hooda.
Trying to strike a chord with pensioners, he claimed that if he gets a chance to become the chief minister, he would increase their pension to Rs 5,000 per month.
As expected, the rally, described as the launch of poll campaign by Hooda, was not attended by Congress MLAs Kuldeep Bishnoi, Renuka Bishnoi, Randeep Surjewala, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Kiran Choudhry and HPCC chief Tanwar.
Hooda supporters — Karan Dalal (Palwal MLA), former Haryana Congress president Phool Chand Mullana, former speaker Raghubir Singh Kadian and Geeta Bhukkal (Jhajjar MLA) — also openly challenged the party high command to either declare him as the party president in Haryana or face consequences.
Promises four deputy chief ministers
Hooda said if he is elected chief minister again, he would have four deputy chief ministers — one each from dalit, backward class, brahmin communities and the fourth one to represent the remaining communities. He also announced waiver of farmers’ loans, restoration of old pension scheme, financial aid of Rs 2,000 per month to women in the BPL category and free electricity up to 300 units for BPL families.