As monsoon session begins today, Congress enters Haryana Assembly for 5th time without Opposition Leader

After the appointment of district presidents by the Congress, it was expected that the party might announce the name of the leader of its legislative party before the monsoon session. However, no such announcement has been made by the Congress. The ruling BJP is all set to hit back at the Congress party for its failure to appoint a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader, since the party lost to the BJP in the October 2024 Vidhan Sabha election.

Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, however, continues to play the role of the Opposition leader without an official declaration.

During the last Budget session, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had stated that “in our view, Hooda is the Leader of the Opposition”. Hooda also represents the Congress party in meetings held by the state government to decide on appointments to constitutional posts.

There will be a break on August 23 and 24, while proceedings will be held on August 25, 26, and 27. Despite being short, the session is expected to be effective and stormy. A major deadlock is likely to occur in the Assembly over the law and order situation in the state.

Both the Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) have submitted adjournment motions on the issue of law and order, which is expected to lead to uproar. If the Speaker does not accept the motion for discussion on Friday, the Congress is likely to stage a walkout on the very first day.

Demands likely to be raised by Opposition

The Congress party also plans to raise multiple issues in the Assembly, including the suspicious death of Bhiwani playschool teacher Manisha; extortion demands being made by gangsters from traders; threats to MLAs; and several heinous crimes over the last few months. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had announced to hand over Manisha’s alleged murder case to CBI after a public uproar.

A crucial BJP legislative party meeting, chaired by CM Saini, was held on Thursday evening, in which the ruling party discussed strategies to counter the Opposition’s attacks.

Saini held a meeting with his Cabinet colleagues at noon in the committee hall of the Assembly to discuss responses to questions that shall be raised during the monsoon session. All the questions listed for Question Hour were discussed in the meeting. The CM will continue to hold daily meetings with ministers before the session to prepare not only for questions but also for other proposals.

The Opposition is reportedly preparing to raise the issue of monsoon waterlogging in the cities of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Jind, and Sirsa. Rajesh Khullar, Principal Secretary to the chief minister, had camped in Gurgoan for a week to work on a drainage and problem-resolution plan. In cities like Jind, cars were swept away due to waterlogging. Along with long traffic jams, people have suffered heavy property and vehicle damage. The Opposition is also planning to raise the issue of crop damage in farmers’ fields due to water accumulation.