Chandigarh: Haryana assembly witnessed another day of political sparring on Monday, with the Congress-BJP row over the Aug 27 assembly-gate confrontation spilling into the house even as a separate battle over Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN) turned into a clash over the state’s contractual hiring record.The day began with leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda leading a Congress delegation to governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh, seeking an impartial inquiry into the alleged manhandling of Congress MLAs during the Aug 27 protest. The issue returned to the house during zero hour, when BJP minister Ranbir Gangwa and MLA Laxman Yadav moved privilege motions against Congress MLAs Jassi Petwar and Induraj Narwal.The house later passed the motions.Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and Hooda also sparred over the use of the word “goondagardi”. Saini said opposition sloganeering had to be seen in context and urged members to uphold the dignity of the house.Speaker Harvinder Kalyan intervened, suggesting alternative expressions and removal of objectionable words from the records.Hooda nonetheless led a symbolic walkout, saying police force could not be used to suppress elected representatives. Proceedings returned to normal after 4pm, when the house took up a calling-attention motion on HKRN.The motion, moved by 17 Congress MLAs, centred on alleged irregularities, lack of transparency, reservation concerns and recruitment through HKRN. Congress demanded regularisation of eligible contractual workers, equal pay, DA, promotion, reservation and retirement benefits, while alleging that HKRN had become a substitute for regular recruitment.Saini turned the charge on Congress, saying contractual employment had existed in Haryana since 1967. He said the combined number of contingency-paid, work-charged and contractual employees rose from 38,949 in 2005 to nearly 1.1 lakh in 2014, an increase of about 71,000 during Congress rule.Saini said HKRN had removed contractors and middlemen, introduced merit-based deployment and provided wages, EPF, ESI, maternity benefits, transfers and compassionate deployment. He also cited about Rs 2,100 crore deposited towards EPF, ESI and Labour Welfare Fund and a saving of Rs 78.6 crore by replacing contractor commission with HKRN’s 0.5% fee.
