Exuding confidence that Congress will form government in Haryana for the third time in a row, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today slammed opposition parties for claiming that the ruling outfit will put up a poor performance in the forthcoming Assembly polls.
"I go by the people's pulse and not by the opposition claims... There is no doubt that Congress will again form the government in Haryana," the Chief Minister told reporters here this evening after chairing a meeting of his Cabinet.
Told that the opposition parties have claimed Congress may end up winning 10-15 seats in the 90-member Assembly in the October polls, Hooda said, "If we go by the opposition then they may not give us even one seat. When we formed the government for the second time in a row and created history (in 2009), even then the opposition used to say that Congress will put up a poor performance."
"The opposition has no issue... The people have seen their performance and rejected them," he said.
Hooda said his party will hold a big rally in Panipat on August 24. "We will give our report card and put it before the people in that rally," he said.
Hooda, the two-time Chief Minister, also said Congress will soon finalise its election manifesto.
Asserting that Haryana today was No. 1 in most spheres, the 66-year-old Chief Minister said "when we come to power again, the thrust will be to make Haryana one of the developed states in the world. We have already laid a strong foundation and now we have to further accelerate the pace of progress".
Asked to comment on some surveys which claimed that Hooda was acceptable to people but not the Congress, the CM replied, "When I am acceptable, Congress automatically becomes acceptable. I am the Chief Minister, but I belong to the Congress party."
"Let me again say this that Congress will finish on top," he said.
