Congress MLAs attended the three-day Haryana Vidhan Sabha session without the Leader of Opposition, sparking intense debates about holding the session without their Leader. In this regard, opposition party MLAs also mocked the Congress. Indian National Lok Dal legislator Arjun Chautala criticized the condition of the Congress. He stated that this is the first occasion in which the Congress, despite being in opposition, was unable to select the Leader of Opposition. He also stated that the Congress’s inability to select its leader despite having the necessary numbers indicates the party’s internal conflicts and lack of discipline.
Simultaneously, Congress MLAs are justifying their stance on this matter. Potential opposition leader candidate and ex-Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s supporter, MLA Ashok Arora, responded to this. He stated that even the Leader of Opposition among the Congress MLAs has total freedom to voice their opinions.
Ashok Arora stated that selecting the opposition leader requires time. Referencing the Karnataka assembly, he noted that it also took time to select the leader of the opposition, which is not unprecedented. In the meantime, ex-Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda also responded to Arjun Chautala’s remarks. He mentioned that there is no disagreement within the party. Hooda stated that the party MLAs have shared their views with the high command, which will choose the leader of opposition at the right moment.
MLA Ashok Arora, an associate of former Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda and a frontrunner for the Leader of Opposition position, stated that MLAs have full liberty to express their opinions in the House, even if there is no Leader of Opposition. He also mentioned that it is not required for MLAs to be absent from the House if the Leader of Opposition is not present. In Karnataka, the selection of the Leader of Opposition also took time previously, and this is not anything unusual.
Sources indicate that following the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the Congress leadership might make a decision regarding the Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Assembly. Nonetheless, there are also reports of factionalism within the party, where MLAs backing Hooda are attempting to position him as the Leader of Opposition.