'Sharam nai aati? Besharam aadmi': Haryana deputy speaker Krishan Middha makes officials sit on ground after encroachment drive

JIND: Controversy erupted among officials after Deputy Speaker Krishan Middha forced officials to sit on the ground after they removed encroachments from the city market area. It is noteworthy that for quite some time, some shopkeepers in the Diwankhana Market had been earning their livelihood by setting up makeshift setups and operating from wooden platforms in the open. Acting on complaints from local shopkeepers, officials and staff from the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HSVP) conducted an anti-encroachment drive. The video of the entire incident is making rounds on social media platforms rapidly. Following this, all the affected individuals sought help from the Deputy Speaker and local MLA, Krishan Middha. In response, Middha arrived at the site with his full team. He confronted the officer, holding his hand and rebuking him for quite some time while walking for a distance. Middha alleged that HSVP demolished the shops of poor and small vendors without issuing any notice or providing any alternative arrangements. Not even an hour’s time was given. After this, Middha took the officials to the encroachment site where the affected individuals were sitting. He made SDO Tarun and his staff sit on the ground and sat down with them himself. He continued to scold the officials for a long time and warned them not to carry out such actions in the future. Middha declared that he would personally compensate for the losses incurred by the affected shopkeepers from his own pocket. Middha angrily asked the officials, "This action you’ve taken — was it verbal? You demolished everything — was that done based on a verbal order?" The officer replied, "We had earlier asked them to remove their belongings." To this, the Deputy Speaker responded angrily, saying, "Jhuth bol raha hai tu, sharm nahi aati, besharam aadmi (You're lying. Aren’t you ashamed? Shameless man). Look at what you've done to these people and their belongings." He added, "You don’t understand the pain of the poor. Were you born into a royal family or something? Are you from a multi-millionaire household? You felt no compassion for the poor. Do you just enjoy showing off your power?" "You're showing your bureaucracy only on the poor," he added. Officials kept silent on this issue and evaded making any comment openly.