What is ‘kharchi, parchi’ that PM Modi is talking about in Haryana?

In its Haryana poll manifesto too, the BJP talks about this, promising to provide two lakh permanent government jobs to youths, “bina parchi, bina kharchi (without favouritism, without bribes)”.

What is the term and how has it come into currency?

In the tight Haryana race, which is expected to be a bipolar one between the BJP and Congress, a common promise across parties and candidates is “pakki naukri (permanent government jobs)” if they come to power. If the BJP has promised 2 lakh government jobs with due process, the Congress has promised to fill 2 lakh vacant government posts. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) that is contesting in alliance with the BSP has released a job calendar promising one lakh government jobs in the first year and an unemployment allowance of Rs 21,000 per month.

As per the BJP, under the Congress, the employment system rested on “parchi” – hiring based on recommendations of people in power, that is favouritism. Or, on “kharchi” – payment of bribes for jobs, that is corruption.

The BJP claims this system under the Congress was so organised that different bribe rates were fixed for different posts.

In private, BJP leaders admit that while the party has latched on to the catchy term, the practice is not dissimilar to what would happen in earlier regimes.

Did things change after the BJP came to power in 2014?

Haryana BJP chief spokesperson Jawahar Yadav claims the party government put a stop to “parchi and kharchi”, and carried out recruitment for 1.43 lakh posts via a transparent system, on merit. Not only that, he says, but the BJP government has also given more jobs than the two terms of the Congress.

Back in November 2022, listing his government’s achievements, then Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar claimed to have ended the parchi, kharchi system.

Earlier this week, Yadav shared a video on X of a purported Congress leader telling a gathering that he would leave his contact number and “aap log keval apna parcha le aana jis pe roll number likha ho (you only have to share slips with your roll number written)”. The person then goes on to name Bhupinder Singh Hooda and says he will go to the Congress leader with the job application and “naukriyan aap tak main leke aaoonga (I will myself get jobs for you)”.

How has the Congress responded?

Haryana Congress spokesperson Kewal Dhingra accuses the BJP of making allegations without any evidence. “There was no kharchi and parchi practice here. The BJP is lying and sharing fake videos. The Congress government had transparently made recruitments. It is the BJP government that started an ‘attaché (briefcase)’ culture of taking money to give jobs.”

Dhingra also claims proof that a deputy secretary of the Haryana Public Service Commission was arrested in 2021 “for taking bribes to manipulate marks of candidates for their recruitment as dental surgeons”.

On the BJP government’s employment record, Dhingra says it is only giving temporary jobs and employing people on a daily wage basis.