Latest news with #BhupinderSinghHooda
The Hindu
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
‘Instead of meeting, Haryana govt should file contempt of court,' says ex-CM Hooda
Ahead of the meeting slated for Tuesday (July 9, 2025), surrounding the construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, the focal point of a water-sharing dispute between Haryana and Punjab, Congress leader and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday said that the ruling BJP government should file a contempt of court case in the matter as holding a meeting on the SYL issue would not help in getting Haryana its rightful share in water. He was reacting to the proposed meeting on SYL, which has been convened by the central government and would be chaired by Union Minister C.R. Patil, and Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana are likely to participate. 'The BJP government should now go beyond these meetings as the Supreme Court's decision has come in favour of Haryana a long time ago. The apex court had given the responsibility of providing Haryana's share of water to the central government. There is a BJP government both in Haryana and at the center. In such a situation, Haryana should have got its share of water by now,' he said here. Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party, Mr. Hooda said, 'It's due to BJP's anti-Haryana attitude that Haryana has not got its rightful share of water. The government should directly file a contempt of court case,' he added. He said the State government was wasting time by holding meetings on the issue of SYL, and instead, it should get the decision of the Supreme Court implemented, which is in favour of Haryana.
Time of India
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
In action against Bhupinder Hooda's former principal secretary, ED attaches 9 houses, bank accounts worth Rs 14cr
Chandigarh: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Monday provisionally attached nine houses and apartments, and bank accounts with balances worth Rs 14.06 crore, linked to former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda's former principal secretary Murari Lal Tayal, his wife, and family members. The move comes even as the trial against Tayal, known as a confidant of Hooda, is yet to start. The attachment orders are based on investigations carried out by ED in a case linked to corruption and amassing assets disproportionate to known sources of income during Tayal's service as a bureaucrat in Haryana. The provisional attachments have been carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 by ED's Chandigarh zone office. The nine immovable properties include two houses and seven apartments in Chandigarh, New Delhi, and Gurgaon. An FIR registered by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) wing of CBI alleged that former IAS officer Tayal and his family members amassed assets disproportionate to his income from Jan 2006 to Dec 31, 2014. Tayal served as principal secretary to the then chief minister of Haryana from March 6, 2005, to Oct 31, 2009, and as a member of the Competition Commission of India from Nov 30, 2009, to Dec 31, 2014. Pursuant to this, ED investigated the financial affairs, income tax records, and stock market dealings of Tayal and his wife, Savita Tayal, who also served as a member of HPSC during the Congress govt, and their son, Kartik Tayal. The ED investigation revealed that from Jan 1, 2006, to Dec 31, 2014, the accused acquired disproportionate assets worth Rs 14.06 crore while using the proceeds of crime (PoC) generated through illegal gratification. Last year, CBI filed a voluminous chargesheet against the accused, and the trial could not be advanced as the agency did not get permission for prosecution of the officer from the depart of personnel and training, as well as the govt of Haryana. During the Bhupinder Hooda-led Congress govt, Tayal enjoyed plum postings in Haryana as well as the Centre.
The Hindu
06-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Congress alleges rigging in Haryana Assistant Professor recruitment exams; seeks re-conduct and judicial probe
Alleging large-scale rigging and irregularities in the recruitment process for Assistant Professors in various subjects in Haryana, Congress Rajya Sabha member Randeep Surjewala has demanded that the exams be conducted again in a transparent manner and judicial probe initiated into the matter. A delegation of candidates also submitted a memorandum to former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda at his Delhi residence in this connection. Haryana CM media secretary Praveen Attrey denied the allegations as 'baseless' saying that Mr. Surjewala had made similar accusations over half-a-dozen times since the BJP first came to power in 2014 and was 'frustrated' over the people voting the saffron party to the power for the third time in a row expressing faith in its policies. Mr. Surjewala, at a press conference in Hisar, alleged rigging in the exam for the recruitment of Assistant Professor (Geography) saying that 32 questions for the exam conducted by the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) were taken from the question paper for Geography's exam conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC). Is it a coincidence or an experiment that HPSC Chairman Alok Verma has also been 'imported' from Bihar, said Mr. Surjewala adding that the recruitment process could be easily manipulated by hinting the candidates to prepare from the BPSC question paper. The HPSC had advertised 2,424 posts for Assistant Professors in 26 subjects in August last year and around 1.5 lakh youth had applied for it. The posts were advertised after a gap of around five years. Mr. Surjewala said seals of envelopes carrying question papers for Assistant Professor (Hindi) exam were found broken at six centres and the HPSC had to cancel the exam two days later following a backlash. The HPSC initially maintained that the process was not compromised, but later cancelled the exam, which was the 'biggest proof of scam', alleged Mr. Surjewala. Addressing the delegation of the candidates appearing for the Assistant Professor exam, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that 'paper leaks, copy-paste exams and scams have become synonymous with the recruitments conducted under the BJP government'. On this occasion, Mr. Hooda said that grave irregularities have come to light in the Assistant Professor recruitment exam conducted by the HPSC. Apart from History, serious discrepancies have also been exposed in subjects like Hindi, Zoology, Chemistry and Physics, he said, adding that the candidates had already submitted detailed written complaints to the Commission, demanding the cancellation of these examinations. The candidates informed Mr. Hooda that 24 questions in the History paper were copied verbatim from a question paper for the recruitment of Assistant Professors by the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission. The HPSC did not even bother to modify the questions, not in language nor in context. Mr. Attrey, however, accused the Congress of arbitrarily distributing jobs to its 'near and dear ones' during its ten-year rule, adding that the party was perturbed over change in system during the rule of the BJP, which had ensured jobs on merit.
Indian Express
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Will Haryana power tariff hike jolt BJP? Opposition finds a line of attack to corner Saini govt
Three months after the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) announced a tariff hike for domestic consumers, the issue has become a major rallying point for the Opposition. As revised electricity bills began reaching households in the second and third weeks of June, former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda alleged a four-fold increase in electricity charges. On Tuesday, senior Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Abhay Singh Chautala led a protest outside the power utilities' headquarters, Shakti Bhawan, in Panchkula to protest against the hike, the first in seven years. While the Nayab Singh Saini government insists the tariff revision won't affect most domestic consumers, the Opposition has seized on the issue, citing the sheer number of electricity users. Haryana has 84 lakh electricity consumers, 43.57 lakh served by Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and 37.39 lakh by the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam. Explaining the Opposition's concerns, Hooda said, 'Common families who earlier paid Rs 900 to Rs 1,000 are now receiving bills of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000. Power utilities have added a fixed charge of Rs 75 per kilowatt (kW), meaning a 10-kW connection now incurs an additional Rs 750 per month. Previously, rates were slab-based, ranging from Rs 2.5 to Rs 6.3 per unit for 50 units or more. Now, for loads above 5kW, the rate is Rs 6.5 to Rs 7.5 per unit.' He also noted that slab-wise rates have increased by 20 paise to 40 paise per unit. State Energy Minister Anil Vij dismissed the claim of a four-fold hike as 'entirely baseless and false.' He emphasised that agricultural tariffs remain unchanged: 10 paise per unit (metered) and Rs 15 per brake horsepower (for motors) per month at a flat rate. He added that monthly bills for domestic consumers with up to 2-kW connections had decreased by 49% to 75% compared to the 2014-15 financial year, and that most Category II consumers (up to 5kW load) had also seen reductions. According to Vij, 94% of consumers fall under Category I (up to 2-kW load and monthly consumption up to 100 units) and Category II, and most of their bills have gone down. He also highlighted that the minimum monthly charges had been removed for all domestic categories. At the Panchkula protest on Tuesday, the INLD accused the BJP government of reneging on its pre-election promise of providing up to 300 units of electricity free of cost. The government, on its part, pointed out that this was the first tariff revision since 2018, despite rising power procurement and operational costs. 'We managed to keep tariffs stable for nearly a decade through improved efficiency and strict financial discipline. From 2014-15 to 2024-25, aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses, which refer to the total losses in an electricity distribution system, have been reduced from 29% to 10%,' it said in a statement. Amid the growing political heat, former electricity minister and Congress leader Sampat Singh filed a review petition before the HERC, demanding a public hearing. 'The surprising aspect of this electricity tariff order is that power companies are purchasing 7,964.28 crore units of electricity from various power generation units at Rs 3.12 per unit, and selling it to consumers at Rs 7.29 per unit. Moreover, only 6,916 crore units out of the total purchased are being delivered to consumers. With over 22% loss in transmission, consumers are effectively paying for energy they never received,' he said.
Hindustan Times
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Farmers facing shortage of DAP: Hooda
Expressing concern over the shortage of diammonium phosphate (DAP) in the state, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday said farmers have to face shortage of fertilisers in every crop season because of mismanagement of BJP government. In a statement, the Congress leader said that there is a huge shortage of DAP in Sonepat, Jhajjar, Fatehabad, Hisar and Rohtak districts. 'Farmers have no choice but to buy expensive fertilisers from the black market. DAP stocks have completely run out in Sonepat. As against the requirement of 1.10 lakh quintals of fertiliser this season, only 40,000 quintals of DAP has reached farmers,' he said. He said the total consumption of DAP in Rohtak district is 1.70 lakh quintals, but the availability is comparatively less.
