Tensions gripped Haryana as Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda led a fierce critique against the BJP-led state government for thwarting anti-MGNREGA scrappage protests. In Chandigarh on February 25, Hooda told reporters that the administration’s heavy-handed tactics, including house arrests and detentions, betray a dictatorial mindset threatening India’s democratic fabric.
The flashpoint: BJP’s move to end MGNREGA and cut 14 lakh Below Poverty Line cards, prompting Congress to mobilize across districts like Faridabad, Hisar, and Rohtak. Yet, permissions were denied via pasted notices—a first in Hooda’s long parliamentary career. ‘Disagreement between ruling and opposition is democracy’s beauty,’ he noted, slamming the four-day custody of Youth Congress chief Uday Bhanu Chib as an assault on young voices.
Rao Narendra Singh, Haryana Congress president, amplified the outrage on social media, listing house-arrested leaders in nine districts. This clampdown on peaceful dissent reveals the BJP’s panic over public accountability, he argued. Hooda reminisced about BJP’s own protest history in opposition, questioning the double standards.
With workers and leaders confined, the Congress remains undeterred. ‘The power of the Constitution stands with us,’ Singh posted. This escalating standoff signals deeper rifts in Haryana politics, where questions on welfare schemes are being met not with debate, but detention. As the opposition digs in, the battle for democratic space intensifies.