BJP focus on doable, not freebies: Khattar

Nitin Jain

Tribune News Service

Ambala, October 18

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday exuded confidence that the ruling BJP was heading for a clean sweep with an unprecedented majority in the October 21 Assembly elections, while opposition parties were fighting a “losing battle”.

Addressing day’s first poll rally at Mullana in Ambala to seek support for party candidate Rajbir Singh Barara, Khattar said his party was chasing the “Mission-75” aim, a bid to win as many seats in the 90-member Haryana Vidhan Sabha, and had given slogan “Ab ki baar 75 paar”, but the public response he was getting across the state made him confident that the BJP would win more than 75 seats and record an “unprecedented and historic” victory in the state.

He said opposition parties were facing the “crisis of credibility” and were in disarray. “Everyone knows the situation the Congress is in… it is a divided house. The JJP is a party formed by a son, his father and mother, and everyone knows the plight of the INLD. So on individual seats there may be a contest, but overall there is no direct fight at all,” he claimed.

“While Opposition believes in promising freebies, the BJP’s focus is on realism and things that are doable. The Congress is only raising a loan waiver rant,” he said.

Stating that his government had kept the promise of a transparent administration, zero tolerance towards corruption and development without bias, Khattar said, “We did value-based politics and changed the meaning of politics in the state. Earlier, nepotism and corruption ruled the roost.”

“We have changed the image of Haryana and a fundamental transformation has taken place. We have changed its political culture. Earlier, it was synonymous to corruption and nepotism, but now it is a corruption-free state,” he said.

Speaking to The Tribune on the sidelines of the event, Khattar claimed that his government had delivered more than it had promised in its poll manifesto. He said his government showed zero tolerance towards corruption, gave jobs on merit and undertook overall development.

On the Congress charges that his government was only indulging in “event management” and “failing” in fulfilling the promises made to people, the CM said people would give a befitting reply to these claims in the polls.

He said the BJP government had tried to bring about a change in the perception people had about joining politics owing to its “unclean” image. “Prople are coming forward to be part of the saffron party. Things have changed now due to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.