Ambala: Haryana energy, transport and labour minister Anil Vij on Tuesday questioned the opposition’s protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar after the Supreme Court took cognisance of the matter and issued a notice.“If the opposition has faith in the country’s judicial system, there is no need for such protests after the Supreme Court took cognisance of the issue,” Vij said, asking, “Whom are they trying to pressurise? Are they attempting to put pressure on the Supreme Court?”The minister said the opposition should await the apex court’s verdict and respect its authority and decision. He added that political parties were free to pursue their political course after the verdict, but accepting the court’s decision was a democratic responsibility.‘Collection of Factions’Reacting to former Haryana assembly speaker Kuldeep Sharma’s claim that Congress could have won the election had Bhupinder Singh Hooda not been projected as its face, Anil Vij said the party lacked cohesion in Haryana.“There is no Congress in Haryana; these are merely scattered factions,” he said, adding that Congress functionaries came together and separated according to their personal interests.Vij said the people from different sections, including farmers, traders, youth and senior citizens, had elected the BJP govt for three consecutive terms, and urged the Congress to respect the people’s mandate.“The people’s mandate must be welcomed and respected,” he said.Responding to Congress Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala’s allegation that the BJP govt was anti-farmer, Vij said Haryana’s farmers stood firmly with govt.
