Chandigarh: Faced with the allegation that Haryana government was intolerant towards some of its upright officers, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Saturday said the state was not biased against anyone and followed a system of "reward and punishment".
Hooda was addressing a press conference here, a day after President Pranab Mukherjee quashed a departmental chargesheet filed by Haryana government against whistle-blower IFS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi.
When asked about the matter Hooda said, "these are administrative matters."
To a question whether the government was intolerant to officers like Chaturvedi and that he was chargesheeted because he had dared to blow the lid of alleged forest scams, Hooda said, "as far as Haryana government is concerned, it doesn`t work with any bias."
"But any officer (officers in general) is committing a mistake, my policy is reward and punishment. Whoever does good work, I reward him, whoever doesn`t do good work, I punish him, what is there (what is wrong in that)".
"In Chaturvedi`s case there had been no bias," he said.
"That is up to you. There is one news, you will have a different angle, he (another reporter) will have a different angle, but it is not biased towards anyone," Hooda said.
When pressed further on the quashing of the chargesheet against the IFS officer, Hooda said, "I don`t discuss administrative matters. These are normal administrative matters, this is not a new thing, you try to magnify it."
He also said that there are instances when people get suspended and later on they get reinstated. "What is there, there is nothing new in this."
Chaturvedi, currently on deputation as the Chief Vigilance Officer at AIIMS here, had submitted a representation to the President last year against the chargesheet filed by Haryana government over his alleged failure in implementing a plantation programme in Jhajjar.
On the issue of Himachal Pradesh getting a special industrial package, Hooda said that he was not against it but wanted a similar package for Haryana`s hilly areas of Morni and Mewat.
Hooda also reiterated his demand that Chandigarh, which is a Union Territory, should be given to Haryana.
The chief minister also said that the state government is considering setting up a Commission for Minorities in Haryana.
The two-time chief minister said that Congress will score a hat-trick in Haryana and also at the Centre after the forthcoming polls.
When asked about the elevation of Narendra Modi as BJP`s
Prime Ministerial candidate, Hooda said that there was no need to say much on it as what happened in Bihar (snapping of ties by JD(U) from NDA) will be repeated at other places.
He also said that the future of former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala-led Indian National Lok Dal is "bleak".
In reply to a question about MP Rao Inderjit Singh opting to quit the Congress, Hooda said that Singh was his classmate as well as a friend and he has always helped him when the former was in need.
"Whether Singh stays in the party or not, is his personal decision," Hooda said.
When asked about a notice being served on Singh by the Congress recently, Hooda said, "I am Chief Minister of a state, not a member of the high hommand...This issue was between both of them."
On the possibility of formation of a separate Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandak Committee for Haryana, Hooda said he will speak on the matter after getting a legal opinion.
About allegation of discrimination with some areas in development, Hooda said there has been "overall and inclusive development in the state".
"I don`t need any certificate on this issue from anyone," he said.
PTI
