Jat stir: Hooda demands dismissal of Khattar government

Chandigarh: Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday sought dismissal of the BJP dispensation in Haryana and imposition of President's rule over its "failure" to tackle the violence during Jat quota agitation terming it the most "incompetent government" in the state's 50-year history.

"We demand that government be dismissed, state assembly dissolved and President's rule imposed. In the 50-year history of Haryana, never before have we come across such an incompetent government, which has failed on all fronts," Hooda told reporters.

Hooda also demanded setting up of a panel headed by a Supreme Court judge to go into the violence during the Jat quota stir. "What happened was sad and unfortunate... a judicial commission of inquiry, headed by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, should be set up to go into the violence during the stir."

On the arrest warrant issued against his former political advisor Virender after the latter failed to appear before police in a sedition case registered against him in Rohtak during the Jat stir, Hooda said, "he should join investigations. I am a law abiding citizen and I would say this to him".

"A conspiracy was hatched by BJP and RSS to disturb Haryana's peace, harmony and brotherhood. They wanted to create a new votebank. An attempt was made to divide people but we will not allow it to happen..why is the government hesitating in setting up the judicial commission if it has nothing to hide?" he said.

"What was the conspiracy, people need to know. We are of the view that this incompetent government cannot probe its own failures, therefore we demand a commission of inquiry headed by a Supreme Court judge," Hooda said. He claimed that before the Assembly election in the state in October, 2014, BJP had made several promises to people, "but they failed to fulfil any of those".

Hooda said, "30 lives were lost and property worth crores of rupees was damaged during the agitation as the government failed to handle the situation." He said house of Congress leader and former Minister Geeta Bhukkal was burnt in Jhajjar, while another leader Anand Singh Dangi's office was set on fire during the stir.

"The government had earlier said that the (Jat) agitation was leaderless. But things got complicated because the government was also leaderless. Had there been leadership even on one side, this situation would not have arisen.