Congress on Wednesday trained its guns on the Haryana Government for lapses that led to the Rs 645 crore IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank scam, and the Rs 150 crore Kotak Mahindra Bank scam.
Senior Congress leader Ashok Arora alleged that IAS officer Pankaj Agarwal, who is under investigation in the Rs 645 crore IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank scam, deliberately favoured BJP-supported Independent candidate Satish Nandal as Returning Officer in the March 16 Rajya Sabha polls by cancelling Congress votes because he was promised he would be bailed out.
Supporting him, Congress Chief Whip BB Batra said the FIR in the scam was registered on February 23. "Despite the knowledge about his role, he was appointed Returning Officer (RO) for the March 16 Rajya Sabha poll. He was compromised as RO. He was under pressure and did not hold elections fairly," added Batra.
Regarding the scam, he questioned the Saini government over not starting a departmental inquiry. "Not a single departmental inquiry has been initiated against any IAS officer. The Finance Minister, who is the CM, and the Finance Secretary should accept their responsibility. Why have only two IAS officers been suspended? Why has Pankaj Agarwal not been suspended?" said Batra.
Deputy CLP Leader, Aftab Ahmed, raised the issue of Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) recruitments, in which fewer candidates are being selected than the advertised posts. "On one hand, unemployment is at its peak, while on the other hand, continuous irregularities and injustice in recruitment processes conducted through HPSC are coming to light. Hardworking youth are being forced to struggle endlessly while the government is playing with their future," he said.
He added, "The leakage of the NEET examination paper, one of the country's most important competitive examinations, is an extremely serious and unfortunate incident. This episode has deeply hurt the hard work, trust and future of nearly 2.2 million students and their families."
'Dues paid without purchasing power'
BB Batra raised the issue of Rs 1,345 crore payment to Teesta Urja Limited by Haryana Power Utilities without taking approval from the Chief Minister, the Energy Minister, and the Cabinet.
He said that after the termination of the agreement with Teesta Urja, Haryana had to abide by the orders of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL), but a nod from the CM was still a must.
"The payment to the firm in 2025 was quite suspicious and should be investigated," he said.
The power purchase agreement was terminated in 2016.
He pointed out that earlier, when a payment of Rs 712.12 crore was made by Power Utilities in 2022 to Adani Power Ltd following various orders of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL), and Supreme Court, it was done after taking approval from the then Chief Minister on February 4, 2022.