Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Monday said that it is unfair to blame farmers' stir for the spread of COVID-19 infection in the rural areas of the state.

“The infection has spread from the cities to the villages. The government is blaming the farmers to hide its own failure,” Hooda said while addressing a digital conference here.

Lashing out the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Hooda said that the State Government should accept its failures in tackling the COVID-19 crisis and stop blaming me and farmers.

Over the issue of farmers' protest against three central farm laws, the senior Congress leader said, “This is not a political protest. The government should take a step ahead and talk to farmers who have been sitting on protest at Delhi-Haryana border for over six months. They (government) accused me of indulging in politics over farmers' issues. But this government should make efforts to resolve the issue, he added.

When asked why the Chief Minister has been saying that Hooda is not appealing to farmers to end the stir as pandemic is raging, he said, “I have been repeatedly saying Covid protocol should be maintained. But it has to be the government which has to find a solution to this... They should hold talks with the farmers.”

The Chief Minister himself should also follow COVID-19 protocol, Hooda said while pointing towards protocol violations during Hisar event, where he had inaugurated a COVID hospital around two weeks back.

Hooda also rejected the charge of indulging in politics during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said this is not the time to indulge in politics and he had offered to extend full cooperation to the government in fighting the pandemic. “But as the Leader of Opposition, it is also my responsibility to raise people's problems and convey the same to the government, which I did in my letter written to the Chief Minister,” Hooda said.

The senior Congress leader again demanded that an all-party meeting should be held to discuss the issue of COVID-19 crisis and to prepare for the potential third COVID-19 wave.

On the issue of convening an all-party meeting to discuss COVID-19 crisis, the Chief Minister Manohar Lal had a day before said the Congress leader's (Hooda) attitude is only to criticise the State government's handling of the Covid situation rather than extending cooperation.

"I thought his letter did not deserve even a reply, I just ignored it. There was a reason for this. He wants to do politics more rather than extend cooperation,” Khattar had said while talking to the mediapersons.

Hitting back at Khattar, Hooda said, “He did not have any answer to my letter and hence, he choose to ignore it”  Responding to Khattar's comment that Congress should not think of coming to power in the state even in 2029, Hooda said it is people of the state who will decide this.

Doors of Govt open for talks with agitating farmers: Dhankar

Haryana BJP chief OP Dhankar on Monday said that the doors of government are always open for the farmers.

It was the farmers' leaders who had stopped holding talks with the government to resolve their grievances over the three central farm laws. The issue should be resolved and talks should be held again, Dhankar said while commenting on the ongoing farmers' agitation.

The state BJP chief while addressing a digital press conference here said that the Supreme Court had stayed the implementation of three farm laws. The Union Government had even assured to put on hold the farm laws for one-and-a-half years. But the farmer leaders still continued their protest, he added.