Hooda defends stance on growth policy

A day after congress MP Kuldeep Bishnoi demanded the scrapping of a deal to set up a special economic zone in Haryana, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today launched a veiled attack against him saying "few people" were opposed to the state's progress.

"A few people are not able to digest the way we are progressing. Today, Haryana is making tremendous progress on various fronts and has one of the highest per capita incomes in the country," Hooda told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with sarpanches of Yamunanagar district.

Bishnoi had told reporters in New Delhi yesterday that the Haryana government should scrap the deal involving the transfer of 1,700 acres in Gurgaon district to Reliance Industries Limited for setting up a sez.

He joined hands with the opposition Indian National Lok Dal in demanding the deal be scrapped, saying "it stinks and is anti-people".

Hooda, however, said it was a "transparent deal" and was in compliance with the national policy on developing sezs.

"The entire cabinet backed it before it was approved. We don't care about what a few people say, but we know that Haryana will benefit from this," he said.

Bishnoi began targeting the current regime since hooda overcame Bhajan Lal in the race for the chief minister's post.