Chandigarh, Dec 20: The Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhupinder Singh Hooda is confident of a wave in favour of the Congress in Haryana. During a meet the press programme organised at the Chandigarh Press Club, he said that his party would get at least eight of the total ten Lok Sabha seats in Haryana.

Hooda said that he had toured the state and was confident that Congress would emerge as the winner. He said that once Congress party got this mandate, it would lead to assembly elections in the state.

He added that the Haryana Vikas party-Bharatiya Janata party combine had failed to fulfil the promises made to the voters and honour the commitments made in the election manifesto. He said that barring the HVP, the BJP and the Lok Dal party of Om Parkash Chautala, the Congress party was open to talks with any other group or have an understanding or adjustment on tickets for the Lok Sabha poll. The main poll plank of Congress party would be stability as the United Front or the BJP had failed to provide a stable government. About prohibition, he said that mafia were running a parallel liquor trade and the law and order had deteriorated in the state.

He said that a special session should have been convened to review the prohibition policy. He said that once the Congress government came to power in Haryana, cases all the 75,000 people for possession upto three bottles of liquor would be withdrawn. He said that the present prohibition policy would be "reviewed".

Hooda opposed the move to privatise power sector in the state. He was also critical of move to bring educational institutions under the Shops and Commercial Establishments Act and said that only education department was competent to look into the affairs of educational institutions.

He evaded questions on his relationships with former chief minister, Bhajan Lal who had openly asked people at his public meeting at Rohtak to oppose Hooda. When asked if Bhajan Lal too had applied for a ticket to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha election, he said that he had no knowledge. He, however said that only party high command was competent to take a decision on who was to be allotted a ticket and who was to be denied.

The HPCC chief said that in Haryana he had tried to revive Congress as per the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi to get rid of corrupt leaders, castism and had tried to restore respect to workers.

He said that a election committee had been formed by the Congress party in Haryana which would soon forward names of suitable candidates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections to the party high command for a final nod and thereafter, a full fledged election campaign would be launched in Haryana.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.