Cockroach Janta Party’s rise reflects people’s frustration with the BJP: Hooda

Former Haryana Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday (June 4, 2026) said the rise of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) reflected widespread frustration with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government’s failures, particularly on the issue of unemployment.

The Congress, he said, had been consistently raising people-centric issues in its role as the main Opposition party and would continue to do so, while the CJP was in its formative stage. “What the CJP truly stands for, what kind of leadership eventually emerges from its ranks, and what core issues it chooses to champion — all of this remains to be seen,” Mr. Hooda told The Hindu.

“The demands being raised by the CJP are not new. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has already been vocal about these very issues for a long time. Mr. Gandhi has consistently called for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The Congress remains a formidable force and the principal Opposition party in the country,” he said.

“It (the CJP) is a kind thermometer, a measure of the public’s discontentment. The BJP should address these pressing issues rather than ignoring them,” he said.

Hitting out at the BJP government in Haryana, Mr. Hooda, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Haryana Assembly, said the Congress would strongly raise the issues of inflation, examination paper leaks, power and water supply, and the deteriorating law and order situation within and outside the Haryana Assembly, “among the people across the State”.

“We will hold a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting once every month, deliberate on public issues and accordingly formulate strategies to corner the government. We have set up a committee to keep tabs on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. All Congress members, including MLAs, district-level leaders, and Booth-Level Agents will play an active role with full vigour in the SIR process until July 15. They will remain vigilant against any form of irregularity. We will ensure that no valid vote is deleted from the rolls, and conversely, that no fraudulent votes are added,” Mr. Hooda said.

On Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s repeated visits to Punjab in the run-up to the Assembly election due in the State in early 2027, Mr. Hooda said the BJP had failed to honour its electoral promises in Haryana, and had no moral ground to seek votes in Punjab.

“They promised ₹2,100 monthly assistance to women above 18 years, but later placed several conditions on the scheme. While Mr. Saini attempts to sell his governance model in Punjab, the ground reality in Haryana is starkly different. Organised crime is rampant in Haryana, the Social Progress Index ranked Haryana the most insecure State in the country, and the NITI Aayog Fiscal Health Index 2025 placed it 14th among 18 major States, pushing it into the bottom five. The BJP has failed on every front,” Mr. Hooda said.

Responding to his absence at the closing ceremony for the Statewide ‘Sadbhav Yatra’ organised by Congress leader and former MP Brijendra Singh, son of veteran Congress leader Birender Singh, Mr. Hooda said he “didn’t think it was necessary to go”. “It wasn’t a party programme. I did go when Rahul Gandhi-ji came. The party is united,” he said.