Haryana BJP MLA questions party’s merit-based jobs policy, warns of anti-incumbency

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Safidon, Ram Kumar Gautam, has criticised former Chief Minister Manohar Lal’s policy of providing government jobs strictly on merit, saying it was “wrong” and had alienated party workers whose children remained unemployed despite their contribution to the party. Interacting with media persons in his Assembly constituency on Thursday (October 29, 2026), he also warned that Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini could face anti-incumbency if he failed to address their concerns in time.

The BJP has consistently projected its policy of providing jobs without political recommendations or bribes, encapsulated in the slogan ‘Naukri bina parchi, bina kharchi’, as one of its biggest achievements in Haryana. However, Mr. Gautam questioned the rationale behind the policy, arguing that party workers who had worked hard to bring the BJP to power were being left out.

“If you give jobs only on merit and the children of those who formed your government and believed in you remain unemployed, what is the point of merit? This was Manohar Lal’s mistake. He gave jobs only on merit,” he said.