In a scathing attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Assembly and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda declared on Tuesday that the administration is setting a "new record in corruption every day." Citing official data, Hooda painted a grim picture of deteriorating governance and economic health in the state.
Alarming 186% Surge in Corruption Cases
Hooda presented a stark statistic to back his allegations, referencing the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report. He revealed that corruption cases registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act and relevant IPC sections witnessed a shocking 186% increase between 2021 and 2023. The Congress leader asserted that this alarming figure only represents the tip of the iceberg, as the government actively suppresses major scandals and obstructs their investigation.
"Despite its best efforts to hide the truth, a new scam surfaces almost daily," Hooda stated, highlighting the administration's failure to curb malfeasance.
Exposing the Multi-Crore Paddy Procurement Scam
As a prime example of this systemic corruption, Hooda detailed a massive scam in the state's paddy procurement system, which he claimed repeats every harvest season. He provided specific, damning evidence from two mandis (agricultural markets).
In the Asandh mandi, official records showed 570 trips made by 112 vehicles for transporting paddy. However, no actual paddy was moved. The entire procurement and transportation process existed only on paper, leading to a fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 39.24 crore.
The situation in Gharaunda mandi was even more brazen, according to the senior leader. Here, 11,628 quintals of paddy were shown as purchased using completely fake gate passes, with no crop ever arriving at the market. The audacity of the fraud extended to showing motorcycles and auto-rickshaws as vehicles used for transporting the non-existent paddy, causing a loss of Rs 2.56 crore.
Hooda alleged that the total scale of the paddy scam runs into hundreds of crores of rupees. He accused the government of a cover-up, claiming action is only taken against low-level employees while the "big fish"—the real masterminds—are shielded from prosecution.
A Hollowed Economy and Crushing Debt Burden
Moving beyond corruption, Hooda launched a sharp critique of the BJP government's economic management. He argued that a series of scams has severely weakened Haryana's financial foundation, eroding public trust.
"The common people, along with economists and intellectuals, have lost faith in the government because Haryana's economic situation has become extremely worrying," he said.
To illustrate the crisis, he provided a historical comparison of the state's debt. From its formation in 1966 until 2014, Haryana accumulated a debt of approximately Rs 60,000 crore. Under the current regime, Hooda claimed, this debt has ballooned to over Rs 5 lakh crore—a staggering increase that reflects dire fiscal health.
The former Chief Minister pointed to the NITI Aayog's Fiscal Health Index, where Haryana has slipped to the 14th position among 18 states. A key indicator, the debt-to-GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) ratio, has crossed 31%, signaling that the state is deeply mired in debt and facing serious financial stress.
Hooda's comprehensive indictment presents a dual challenge for the state government: addressing specific allegations of large-scale corruption in schemes like paddy procurement and responding to broader concerns about unsustainable debt and poor economic governance.
