New Delhi: Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The meeting comes just two days after he vowed not to share a public stage with him. The Chief Minister reportedly came to discuss a range of issues related to his state, including a special package for Haryana and a water dispute.
A photograph tweeted by the Prime Minister’s Office seemed to mock Hooda’s pledge on Wednesday. He is seen sitting amiably with PM Modi, minus the bitterness that saw him declaring earlier, “In future, I will never attend a function with the PM.”
Hooda, then, was bristling after being booed by a crowd at a function he attended with the Prime Minister in Kaithal, for the launch of a road project. The same crowd roared with approval at Modi’s speech. Hooda alleged later that the crowd was organised by BJP.
After his outburst, another Congress Chief Minister, Prithviraj Chavan, decided to skip the launch of the Nagpur Metro in Maharashtra on Thursday, saying he experienced similar humiliation at a public event before. BJP sneered that the Chief Ministers of Haryana and Maharashtra should read the writing on the wall. Both states will vote for new governments later this year.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, a Congress ally, became the third to be heckled in PM Modi’s presence. On Friday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh struck a conciliatory note and urged the Chief Ministers to reconsider their “boycott”.Â