Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today attacked the opposition INLD for spreading "false propaganda" about the JBT teacher recruitment scam, and said they should "hire a good advocate to plead their case in the court" instead of challenging him for a debate on the issue.
Hooda said, "Today they are accusing me and CBI for falsely implicating them in the case. They are propagating that the INLD leaders have been sentenced for giving jobs to the youths..."
He said that in 2003, when Supreme Court had ordered a CBI inquiry into the issue, INLD President Om Prakash Chautala was the Chief Minister of the state and Atal Bihari Vajpayee was country's Prime Minister.
In 2003, INLD was an ally of the BJP and the NDA.
"When FIR was registered against the INLD leaders in 2004, at that time also, Om Prakash Chautala was the Chief Minister and BJP supported by INLD was in power at the Centre.
"I became Chief Minister of Haryana on March 5, 2005, therefore, how CBI and I could be blamed for this," Hooda questioned.
He said that they (INLD) "were suffering due their own misdeeds."
Time and again the opposition leaders had challenged me to debate the (JBT) issue "but they themselves refrain from debate in the Assembly which is an appropriate platform to discuss such issues", the chief minister said.
He suggested that instead of asking him to debate, they should hire a good advocate to plead their case in the court of law.
On January 16, former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, his MLA-son Ajay Chautala and 53 others were convicted by a Delhi court for the illegal recruitment of over 3,000 junior basic trained (JBT) teachers in the state.
The chief minister also announced that parts of mythical Saraswati River here will be rejuvenated and fresh water would start flowing in it from this year.
"The pilgrims could take dip in this sacred river also as they take bath in sacred tanks in Kurukshetra," Hooda said addressing a Vikas Rally here.
Pehowa is a holy town around 27 km from Kurukshetra and a small pond here is believed to be part of the mythical Saraswati river.
