Manohar Lal Khattar, the chief minister of Haryana, rebuked a bystander who attempted to speak during the CM’s Jan Samvad Programme at Panchkula on Friday night, saying, “Aese to sabzi mandi ban jayegi (This way the meeting will turn into a sabji mandi)”.
The Jan Samvad programme is a people-to-people initiative that aims to engage in direct communication with the public to hear out their complaints and find solutions, preferably right away. The chair (CM), who runs the event while holding a microphone in his hand, does not, however, allow participants to speak without first getting the chair’s permission.
The chief minister forbade Sector 21 resident Ashok Arya from speaking, saying, “This will turn the meeting into a sabji mandi. Apane aap nahi (don’t speak without permission)” Arya sat on his chair as the CM insisted on maintaining order in the meeting, while a government worker stood up to invite Khattar to an event of the employees to express their views.Arya rose up once more to make his point as the nearly two-hour-long event came to an end. He was now given the opportunity to speak. Arya, a local businessman who deals in ayurveda, demanded that potholes be inspected and repaired in order to reduce accidents. The chief minister carefully listened to his suggestion before sharing a proverb which is often told in the rural areas – “Raat Chhoti—Saang Bada (a lot of issues and a limited time)”.
Accompanied by Assembly Speaker and Panchkula MLA Gian Chand Gupta, and local officers, Khattar launched the gathering with the motto of “Bharat Maata ki Jai”.
Speaking to the populace, the chief minister claimed that his administration has accomplished twice as much work in its nine years in office as its predecessor did during its ten-year tenure. Claiming that they have done these works at reduced expense, Khattar cited to the example of Jhajjar bus stand which was built at a much low cost (Rs 32 crore) than of its initial estimate (45 crore).
