A day after his known critic Congress MP Kumari Selja filed her nomination to Rajya Sabha, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today said the decision was taken at the party level and the former Union Minister was "acceptable" to him like any other party leader.
Selja, a prominent Dalit face in Haryana and twice MP from Ambala, had yesterday filed her nomination as Congress candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat from her home state.
Selja, a former Union Minister, is a known detractor of Hooda and had been taking the Chief Minister head-on for alleged discrimination against Ambala constituency, represented by her, on the issue of development.
On being asked why Selja was preferred by the High Command for RS ticket, Hooda said "naturally she was interested (to get the ticket)."
Trying to play down his differences with Selja, Hooda said, "Selja is acceptable to me...Infact every Congressmen is acceptable to me."
Hooda, however, remarked in a lighter vein that, "Horses are of two types...One which is part of a race and the other of a marriage party."
"Horse which is part of race will run the race while the horse that is part of a marriage will go along with the party," he said.
Sources said that Hooda's faction was lobbying hard till the last minute for getting Rajya Sabha ticket to Haryana Congress Chief Phul Chand Mullana, who is also a prominent Dalit leader of the state.
Hooda, however, refuted the claim and said Mullana had not applied for the Rajya Sabha ticket.
He also dismissed suggestions that he had recommended some names for the two RS falling vacant from Haryana.
"I did not recommend any name for the Rajya Sabha seat to the High Command...Moreover its an internal matter of the party," he said.
Selja herself was pressing for re-nomination of Congress' candidate Ishwar Singh on the ground that he had completed just one term as against other party candidate Ram Parkash.
The terms of both Singh and Parkash are scheduled to end next month.
