CHANDIGARH: Former Haryana chief minister and leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda has said that the neglect of 52,000 Anganwadi workers of the state is a living example of the negative thinking of the BJP-JJP government towards the daughters.
Hooda said Anganwadi workers are on strike for the last 70 days and are camping in Karnal, the home area of the chief minister, to press for their demands.
"Daughters are forced to struggle on the streets under the BJP government, which gave the slogan 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao', but the government is not listening to them. inflation in Haryana is continuously setting new records and the government and the government continues to be indifferent to the plight of people," Hooda said, referring to the latest figures of retail inflation.
"Anganwadi workers, who somehow survive on very low honorarium, have found it difficult to run their homes. Despite this, the government is not ready to accept the demand for increase in honorarium. Women workers say that the state government is not implementing the announcement made by the Prime Minister on September 10, 2018 to increase the honorarium of workers by Rs 1500 and for helpers by Rs 750," he added.
"In March 2018, the chief minister had himself had fixed the honorarium of skilled and unskilled workers and linked them with dearness allowance, the present government has backtracked from implementing it. The government is not ready to implement the exgratia of Rs 3 lakh, despite accepting it. In such a situation, the trust of the people in the government is going to end because this government is clearly going back on its own words," he said.
The leader of opposition said the state government is adopting a dictatorial attitude to suppress the movement and it has terminated the services of hundreds of workers and helpers, and filed false cases against them. He accused the government is adopting undemocratic tactics against women workers who are agitating democratically for legitimate demands.
"The Congress stands firmly with the Anganwadi workers in every situation. Their demand will be vigorously raised in the coming assembly session and If this government does not accept their demands, then the demands of Anganwadi workers will be fulfilled if the Congress government is formed in future," he said.
Reacting to the latest inflation figures, Hooda said Haryana had once again topped in unemployment, as well as inflation. “It seems that achieving negative achievements has become a habit of the BJP-JJP government. The inflation rate in the state has increased from 6.64% to 7.23%, which is the highest in the entire country. Every section of the state including farmers, traders, labourers, employees and poor is being hit hard by inflation. This is the reason that today every section of the state is compelled to agitate on the streets,” he stated.
