Exclusive Interview: Bhupinder Singh Hooda said – it was wrong to remove Amarinder before the election, we are G-23 not Congress's Great-23

Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who has been the Chief Minister of Haryana twice, is in the headlines these days. He has mediated several times for reconciliation between the disgruntled Congress leaders and the party leadership. For the last eight years, the Haryana Congress has questioned the leaders of its party for not having an organization.

Hooda says that the decision of the Congress high command to remove Captain Amarinder Singh from the post of Chief Minister before the assembly elections in Punjab was wrong. They also have an objection to naming the group of Congress leaders as G-23. He says that we are great-23 leaders of Congress, not G-23.

Hooda is sometimes seen clashing with Chief Minister Manohar Lal on various issues in the assembly, and sometimes photos of both of them please come to the fore. On all state and national level issues, Dainik Jagran's State Bureau Chief Anurag Agarwal spoke to former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Here are the highlights of this candid conversation-

There is no group like G-23 in Congress. We are all senior people at the party and their number is not just 23 but hundreds of thousands. We all give suggestions for the good of the Congress party. Our suggestions are also implemented. If needed in the future also, we will continue to write letters to our senior leaders and give oral suggestions together. You can call it the Great-23 group instead of the G-23.

 In Punjab, removing Captain Amarinder Singh from the post just before the assembly elections was the wrong decision of the high command. If the captain had to be removed, he would have removed it at least two-and-a-half years ago. It is a loss to the party. Had the Congress fought the elections under the leadership of Captain, the Congress government would have been formed in Punjab.

The political situation in different states including Haryana, Delhi, and Punjab is different. Haryana is on three sides of Delhi. The last time Kejriwal contested elections in Haryana but no seat came. It's time for our election. Anyone incident before the election changes the whole atmosphere. That's why I don't consider Aam Aadmi Party to be any threat. The sequence of leaders joining the Aam Aadmi Party is the same as it used to be in TMC.

Regional parties have no importance in national politics. Years ago, I had suggested to the top leadership of my party that a law should be enacted to ban regional parties from contesting Lok Sabha elections. By doing this they will be confined to their states and the country will get stable governments without crutches. Pranab Mukherjee was ready with this suggestion of mine, but it did not materialize.

I had indeed spoken of an alliance with anti-BJP parties, but this suggestion was in the national context. Had we done this in Uttar Pradesh, the results would have changed there too. Congress does not need an alliance with anyone in Haryana. Here we are the single largest party.

There are reports of a rift in the BJP-JJP alliance, but I think this alliance will not break because alliances formed without principles last for a long time. The work of both BJP and JJP is going well. That's why no one would like that ripe-cooked power should be lost from their hands.

 Many independent MLAs including BJP and JJP are indeed in touch with me, but I am not at all in favor of breaking the coalition government and forming the Congress government. If we do this, then after two months our situation will be the same as it is now because of the JJP. Now people ask questions to BJP. Then ask us. That's why we will form our government with an absolute majority.

In the 2019 elections, the distribution of tickets in Congress was not done properly. If the right people had got the ticket and our candidates would have got four thousand more votes, then the Congress government was sure to be formed. The organization has not been formed in Congress for eight years. It does have damage. I and other MLAs have already told this to the high command.

The process of organizational election is going on in Haryana Congress. The state president will be elected between July and August. Membership is being done both online and offline. Forms are also available properly. But I am neither a contender for the post of the president nor will I be. At present, I am fine as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party.

The sacrifices of the Gandhi family cannot be forgotten. The independence of the country is the gift of Congress. My father was also a freedom fighter. I have no such intention of contesting elections at the national level of Congress. I am fine in Haryana only. Some people even ask that Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma are going to Rajya Sabha. Only Rahul Gandhi can tell this. There is also talk of making Ashok Gehlot the president, but why would he leave the chief minister's post.

Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are our leaders. We keep meeting them. I had already called a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in Delhi on April 4. Chandigarh's meeting has been fixed for later. There is no ego in me, who has an ego, leave it, Congress will be benefited.

Everyone strengthens the party in their way. I am going to Delhi today. So I will not be in tomorrow's performance. Everyone doesn't need to live there. On April 24, our opposition program will be held in Faridabad, which will continue even further.

Special things-

- I have no ego, who has an ego, leave it.

- Regional parties do not matter, there is no threat from you either.

- BJP-JJP alliance is unprincipled, this match will not be broken.

- If I toppled the government, then people will start asking for answers from me.

- I am not a candidate for the post of Speaker, the post of leader of the legislature party is correct.

- Sailaja travel on foot, I will keep the opposition program in front of you.

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