A day after assuming charge, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday won the floor test in the Vidhan Sabha during a special session. The confidence motion was passed with a voice vote.
First-time BJP MP Saini was sworn-in as the Chief Minister on Tuesday, along with five Cabinet colleagues including Kanwar Pal Gujjar, Mool Chand Sharma, Ranjit Singh Chautala, JP Dalal, and Banwarilal. After taking oath of office on Tuesday evening, Saini had said that they presented a letter of support of 48 MLAs to the governor and asked him to convene an assembly session on Wednesday to prove majority in the House.
Saini moved a motion to seek a vote of confidence in the Assembly and a two-hour discussion took place on the motion. Speaking in the House, Saini said, "Our government not only has the trust of the MLAs, but we also have trust of the people of Haryana." During the discussion on the trust vote, the Chief Minister praised former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for the works undertaken during his nine-year-long tenure. Saini also recalled his days when he was a member of the House during 2014-2019. "During that time I was told that I had to contest Lok Sabha polls. At that time, I was a minister in the Haryana government. When the party desired that I contest LS polls, I abided by that. When the party entrusted me with the new responsibility, I am here to take up the latest assignment," he said.
The new Chief Minister said he came from an ordinary background and no other member from his family was in politics. "The BJP gave me a great honour. The party made an ordinary member its state unit president and then entrusted responsibility to the Chief Minister. This is possible only in the BJP," he said. He expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President JP Nadda, and former Chief Minister Khattar for entrusting him with this important responsibility.
Praising Khattar, Saini said he has learnt a lot from him. Under the leadership of Khattar, the state presented a good governance model in the entire country. Several development works were undertaken by the Khattar dispensation, said Saini. He further said that just as under the leadership of Khattar, the state has seen all-round development in the past nine and a half years, and the public has received benefits, upholding the same ideology, the present government will work hard to serve the residents of the state. “We have to work with the same mindset to provide benefits and rapid development to the people, and bring new development programs. I have learned a lot under the guidance of Khattar,” he added. The Chief Minister further said, “When the intention is honest and the work is strong, people are now saying once again Modi government, BJP government will come to power.”
Saini said that Khattar has made improvements in the administration while working in mission mode, due to which today the beneficiaries are receiving the benefits of government schemes sitting at home. Today, through the portal, senior citizens are receiving a pension of Rs. 3,000 per month at home, said the Chief Minister.
Before the Chief Minister moved the confidence motion, Congress MLAs sought to know from Speaker Gian Chand Gupta about the urgency of convening the assembly session. "There was no emergency," Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Bhupinder Singh Hooda said and claimed that proper time was not given to the MLAs. Party MLA B B Batra asked, "What was the urgency of convening the session?" Hooda asked the Speaker to adjourn the session for at least one hour so that the legislators could reach the assembly. To this, the Speaker said it was the duty of the members to reach the House on time. Gupta, however, said, "Let the discussion take place and in the meantime, the members can reach the House."
Participating in the discussion, Hooda said in 2019, the BJP formed a government in alliance with the JJP. But the BJP-JJP government failed on all fronts and the BJP had to change its chief minister. The former Haryana Chief Minister said it is for the first time that a party (JJP) is issuing whip to its members to remain absent from the House. "What does this mean? This shows that both BJP and JJP are hand-in-glove," he said. This is a stop-gap arrangement, he said, while claiming Saini is playing the role of "night watchman". Don't deceive the public, dissolve the House and seek fresh mandate, demanded Hooda.
Senior Congress MLA Raghuvir Singh Kadian opposed the trust vote and took on the state government over the issues of farmers' plight, law and order, unemployment, alleged liquor scam and cooperative scam. Describing Chief Minister Saini as a gentle person, Kadian claimed the BJP leader has been made a "scapegoat" by being handed over the crown when the state was passing through "unstable times". "President's rule should be imposed in the situation that prevails. We stand in opposition to this trust vote," the Congress MLA said.
After discussions by members of the ruling party and the opposition on the motion of confidence in the House, the vote of confidence motion was passed by a voice vote. Congress members asked Speaker Gupta to conduct voting through secret ballot but he refused saying there was no provision in the rules for the same.
Speaker Gupta put the confidence motion for voting by voice vote which the Saini led government won. Former State Home Minister and senior BJP leader Anil Vij was present in the House. The MLAs of the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), which was part of the previous Khattar government, left the House when the trust vote was taken up. The JJP had issued a whip, asking its 10 legislators to remain absent from the assembly during voting on the confidence motion. Lone legislator of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) was also absent from the House. In the 90-member state assembly, the BJP has 41 members, and it also enjoys the support of six of the seven independents as well as of lone Haryana Lokhit Party MLA Gopal Kanda. The main opposition Congress has 30 MLAs.
Khattar resigns from Karnal Assembly; To contest LS Polls from Karnal
Soon after the Saini led government won the trust vote during a special session of the Assembly, his predecessor Khattar said he was resigning as a member of the House. Hours later, his name was announced as the BJP candidate from Karnal.
While announcing his resignation as MLA, Khattar, who represented the Karnal assembly seat twice, said newly appointed Chief Minister Saini will take care of the constituency now. "During the past nine-and-a-half years, I have served as the Leader of the House. I will serve the people of Haryana till my last breath," Khattar said. He said that change is a part of life. Change happens in many ways.
The former Chief Minister said that in matters of transparency, the BJP government in Haryana has taken numerous initiatives during the past nine and a half years, benefiting the people. “Instead of enjoying power, we made power a means of service. Along with this, emphasis was laid on the importance of the improving system rather than giving importance to any individual. With the resolve of Antyodaya, I will continue to serve the people of Haryana until my last breath, said Khattar.
“I have always prioritised serving the people of Haryana and have brought improvements in the system with the support of technology, focusing on the basic principle of Haryana Ek-Haryanvi Ek, benefiting citizens. Today, many other states are also following our schemes and initiatives,” said Khattar.
Earlier, the special session of the Haryana Assembly began here and obituary references were taken up. A tribute was paid to Faqir Chand Aggarwal, former Deputy Speaker of Haryana Legislative Assembly. The leader of the House and Chief Minister Saini paid tributes and read out the obituary resolution. Gian Chand Gupta also read the obituary resolutions and paid tributes to the departed soul. Senior Congress leader Kadian also read the obituary resolutions on behalf of their party.
