Other States - Haryana   

Hooda's policies win praise from Prime Minister

Rajesh Ahuja

Bid to transform Haryana into No. 1 State gets a shot in arm by bonanza announced by Manmohan Singh

CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who completed one year in office recently, is in an upbeat mood these days as his development-oriented policies have received endorsement not only from Congress bigwigs but also Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

According to political observers here, the virtual bonanza announced by Dr. Manmohan Singh and the praise openly heaped on Mr. Hooda at a public meeting in Panipat on Wednesday clearly indicate that the multi-pronged approach adopted by him to transform Haryana into the country's No. One State in the next few years has received a shot in the arm.

Even though a few might have criticised the visit of the Prime Minister to lay the foundation stone of an elevated highway in the congested city on the ground that Dr. Manmohan Singh only gave assurances and made no concrete announcements, sources close to Mr. Hooda assert that even assurances from the Prime Minister have their own sanctity and are almost equivalent to "announcements".

It is also being said in political circles here that Mr. Hooda deftly managed to get the "demands" raised by him relating to establishment of an atomic power station in Haryana, setting up of a medical college named after the late astronaut Kalpana Chawla and the need to take up the construction of essential dams over the Yamuna and elicited a "positive response" from the Prime Minister.

Not only this, Dr. Manmohan Singh also announced plans to bring Panchkula at par with Chandigarh. He also spoke at length about the Centre's intention to help the State on the power and infrastructure development fronts.

Moreover, the Prime Minister's assertion that development of Haryana was a priority for his regime and the guidelines for future economic transformation of the State incorporating a blend between agriculture and industrialisation are being seen to be in consonance with the vision of Mr. Hooda.

However, observers say that ultimately the responsibility would be on Mr. Hooda's "team" of bureaucrats to implement the "idealistic vision" spelt out in the Prime Minister's speech and the "guidelines" conveyed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

It is also being said that the large turn-out at the Prime Minister's rally despite a scorching sun and the harvesting season in full swing clearly indicate that the people of the State are fully satisfied with the "performance" of the Hooda Government.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Hooda's bid to create healthy society
7 kids burnt alive
Hooda's policies win praise from Prime Minister

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu