Congress to move no-confidence motion in Haryana Assembly

The Congress has announced it will move a no-confidence motion against the BJP-led government in Haryana during the Winter Session of the state Assembly, which begins on Thursday, stepping up its attack on the ruling party over alleged electoral irregularities and governance failures.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Congress Legislative Party chaired by former chief minister and Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Addressing party colleagues, Hooda alleged that the BJP had formed the government by “stealing votes”, claiming that illegal inducements were offered before the elections and that multiple votes were created for individual voters.

He said the proposed no-confidence motion would be used to expose what he described as the government’s misdeeds on the floor of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha.

The move follows a month-long statewide protest launched by the Congress in mid-November after senior party leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections had been “stolen”. The party has cited electoral roll data to claim that around 25 lakh entries were allegedly fake, accusing the Election Commission of India of colluding with the BJP — an allegation strongly denied by both the poll body and the ruling party.

The BJP, which secured a third consecutive term in Haryana last year, currently has 48 MLAs in the 90-member House. The Congress has 37 legislators, while the INLD holds two seats. Three Independent MLAs are supporting the BJP government, giving it a comfortable majority.

This is not the first time the Congress has attempted to unseat a BJP government in the state through a no-confidence motion. In February last year, a similar motion against the then Manohar Lal Khattar-led government was defeated by a voice vote, marking the second such attempt during his second term.

Meanwhile, the Haryana Congress said the CLP meeting also finalised the issues the party plans to raise during the session. These include adjournment motions on the condition of sports infrastructure, alleged fraudulent voters and the alleged misuse of government machinery to form the government.

The party said it would also raise matters such as the protection of the Aravalli range, compensation for waterlogging, rising pollution levels, the alleged paddy scam, MGNREGA implementation, drug abuse, corruption, education and healthcare through calling attention and short-duration discussion motions.

In addition, the Congress plans to demand discussions on issues including the SYL canal, law and order and the Chandigarh dispute, while questions will also be raised on rising unemployment in the state.

With PTI inputs