Will strive to take all groups along: Selja

With infighting in Haryana Congress often coming to the fore in the past, former Union Minister Kumari Selja, who has been elected to Rajya Sabha, today said she would strive to take along all the groups and tell the people about the achievements of the UPA government.

She said, "the weaker sections in Haryana need more attention and care".

Selja, a prominent Dalit leader and Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's known detractor, was talking to reporters here after making a whirlwind tour of Barwala, Uklana and Agroha areas in Hisar district.

When Selja's attention was drawn to a recent statement by Hooda about "baraat and jang ke ghode" (difference between war horses and marriage party horses), apparently aimed at her opting for Rajya Sabha membership instead of fighting the next Lok Sabha polls, Selja declined to comment.

The former minister, who was elected as Lok Sabha MP from Ambala in 2009, however, added "I have heard that he (Hooda) himself has refuted the statement now."

Talking to reporters at Rohtak yesterday, Hooda had sought to clarify his statement, saying it was not meant for any particular person and that the media had presented the statement as a "story".

Meanwhile, Selja also said that Congress President Sonia Gandhi and party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi had asked her to work for the party in Haryana and raise the problems of the state in the Rajya Sabha.

"We would ensure equal development of all areas of the state," she said.

Responding to a question about AAP, she said, "the party has lost its track for which it was voted by the electorate in Delhi. It will not have much impact in Haryana."

Assembly elections are due in Haryana in October this year.