5 min readChandigarhMar 19, 2025 07:36 PM IST
First published on: Mar 19, 2025 at 07:35 PM IST
Haryana’s former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda Wednesday offered to resign as a member of the Assembly as BJP legislators attacked him on the issue of alleged irregularities in the inspector recruitment, which was reported during his tenure as CM, for the second consecutive day.
Citing an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the matter, the BJP legislators have been accusing Hooda of overlooking meritorious candidates and getting his own as well as several other Congress leaders’ kin in government jobs. The issue was first raised by BJP MLA Om Prakash Yadav during Tuesday’s proceedings on the Budget discussion. Yadav even threatened to walkout demanding a clear reply from the government over the action it was taking in the issue of the alleged irregularities in the inspector recruitment.
Speaking during the ongoing Budget Session Wednesday, the senior Congress party leader said such accusations cannot be discussed on the floor of the House. At that time, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini read out a portion of the judgement and said, “There were candidates who submitted blank answer sheets, yet they were selected”.
Agitated over Saini’s statement, Hooda said, “If this is the case, as the chief minister is saying, I resign from membership of this House”.
Hooda also read out the portions from the same judgement and asserted that “at no point, the High Court’s judgement had said anything that raises questions on his government”. But Saini said he “can get this inquired into too”.
Speaker Harvinder Kalyan said the government had already given its reply on the matter. At this point, Hooda stood up and started reading out certain portions of the High Court’s judgement. He claimed that the government was wrongly interpreting the portions of the judgement.
“Yesterday too, there were arguments on the issue of inspectors’ recruitment. The court had passed some remarks. The petitioner had alleged that two persons – Arjun Rathi and Deepak – did not even take a written examination. They submitted blank answer sheets. Yet, they were selected,” Saini said.
To which Hooda said, “You cannot discuss the court’s judgement in the House. There are several court decisions involving you too. Also, the Supreme Court is above the High Court. If this is the case, then I shall resign from this House”.
Saini, however, stood his ground. He said, “The state government will seek the advocate general’s opinion regarding the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court concerning the recruitment of 20 inspectors in the Haryana Police during the Congress tenure. If the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) can initiate an investigation into the matter through a specialised agency, in compliance with the court’s decision, the government is ready to provide the necessary services immediately,” Saini said while speaking in the Zero Hour during ongoing Haryana Assembly Budget Session.
“In 2011, a petition was filed in the High Court by an individual, alleging irregularities in the recruitment process for 20 posts of inspectors in the Haryana Police conducted by the Haryana Staff Selection Commission in 2008. The petitioner claimed that despite securing the highest marks in the written examination, insufficient marks were awarded in the interview. In addition, the petitioner alleged that two of the selected candidates had not even appeared for the written examination. The court ruled that if the petitioner is not satisfied with this decision, then it is his legal right to appeal,” Saini said while citing the case.
Saini added, “The court had formed a three-member committee to investigate the petitioner’s allegations. In its report, on this allegation of impersonation, the Haryana Staff Selection Commission stated that the attendance sheet of the written examination is no longer available. Therefore, to investigate this, a forensic match of handwriting recorded in the answer sheet should be done by a specialised agency by taking a sample of the handwriting of both the selected candidates. On this, the court in its order said that it could not perform the role of an investigative agency, but the Haryana Staff Selection Commission has the freedom to get the facts investigated”.
“During the Congress tenure, the recruitment process for government jobs was flawed. At that time, qualified youth were exploited, and many deserving candidates, especially from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, could not think to get a government job,” Saini said.
Energy Minister Anil Vij too intervened and added, “The issue is no longer pending in the court. The decision has already been pronounced by the court, which is why it can be discussed in the House. I would rather say that the entire judgement should be read out in the House and then a discussion should be held on it”.
Citing an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the matter, the BJP legislators have been accusing Bhupinder Singh Hooda of overlooking meritorious candidates and getting his own as well as several other Congress leaders' kin in government jobs. (Express File photo by Jasbir Malhi) 
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