Abhimanyu-Hooda slugfest gets personal, nastier

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 18

The slugfest between Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda restarted today with both taking potshots at each other on the issue of violence during last year’s Jat quota violence.

The minister held Hooda personally responsible for last year’s violence, in which 30 youths lost their lives. Hooda was restrained in his criticism, blaming Manohar Lal Khattar government for its failure to check large-scale violence.

“Hooda is trying to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere by his tacit support to the proposed Jat reservation agitation which reflected his nervousness and political defeat. Hooda was responsible for the death of 30 youths in the Jat reservation stir through his support to the agitation,” Capt Abhimanyu alleged today.

Hooda, on other hand, hit back at the BJP government, accusing it of 100 per cent failure in controlling the violence during the quota stir.

“The large-scale violence was 100 per cent failure on the part of the Khattar government. The government-appointed Prakash Singh Committee report indicted several officials from the district level to the Chief Minister’s Office for the breakdown of government machinery, leading to large-scale violence,” Hooda retorted.

Alleging that his house, temple and school and other property were set on fire in Rohtak at Hooda’s behest, the minister said Hooda had been playing with the lives of the people from ‘Meham episode’ to ‘Kandela case’ for his political gains.

Refusing to get personal with Capt Abhimanyu, Hooda simply said BJP leaders had been levelling allegations against him to hide their failures in the Jat quota agitation.

After the quota agitation, the two Jat leaders had been at loggerheads on a number of issues in an apparent bid to emerge as the undisputed leader of the influential community.