Days after the Congress accused Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh of indulging in “protocol politics”, Rao’s daughter and Haryana Health Minister Arti Singh Rao said protocol must be followed and should not be a matter of controversy.
“Protocol has always been there and must remain intact. It has its relevance and should not be made a point of controversy anymore,” Arti said in Rewari on Friday.
In response to the matter, she said those who did not follow the protocol should answer for it.
The row over ‘protocol politics’ erupted when the local BJP MP and Union Minister of State Rao Inderjit Singh and all three BJP MLAs from Rewari district stayed away from the ‘Khet Bachao’ programme attended by CM Nayab Singh Saini and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at Bawal on June 30.
Rao Inderjit had later claimed that neither he nor the Bawal MLA had received an invitation to the event.
Subsequently, AICC national secretary and former Rewari MLA Chiranjeev Rao alleged that the development of Rewari and the entire south Haryana region had become a casualty of the BJP leaders’ factionalism, ego clashes and “protocol politics.”
He claimed that BJP MPs and MLAs were distancing themselves from each other’s official programmes, due to which the people of the region are paying a heavy price.
Now, Arti Rao’s remarks are being seen as a response to the controversy and as support for her father’s stand.
The Health Minister was talking to reporters after flagging off 30 advanced life support (ALS) ambulances from Rampura village in the Bawal Assembly constituency for deployment across various districts of Haryana.
Bawal MLA Dr Krishan Kumar, Rewari MLA Laxman Singh Yadav, Kosli MLA Anil Yadav and BJP district president Dr Vandana Popli were present at the event.
Speaking on the initiative, Arti said the new ALS ambulances are equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment and will provide life-saving treatment to seriously injured or critically ill patients while they are being transported to hospitals.
She said the addition of the ambulances would strengthen emergency medical services, especially for the residents of rural and remote areas.
The minister also planted a tree as part of a nationwide campaign and urged citizens to plant more trees.
She said environmental protection is a shared responsibility and stressed that planting trees would help ensure a cleaner and healthier environment for future generations.