At Bhajan Lal's village, jobs an issue

MOHAMMAD PUR ROHI (Fatehabad): Only jobs matter in former chief minister Bhajan Lal's native village on election eve. Right from youngsters to senior citizens, all discuss the unemployment issue and claim that when their hero Bhajan Lal was the CM, there were jobs aplenty.
The village youngsters like Mohammad Pur Rohi are hoping that if the reins of the state come to Bhajan Lal's family again, they could get government jobs.
"When Bhajan Lal ji was the CM, at least three persons in every house were given government jobs. But in the past 18 years, Bhajan Lal's family remained out of power. We want Kuldeep Bishnoi to get maximum seats so that the young generation of our village gets jobs," says 27-year-old Devender, a native of the former CM's village.
When TOI reached the village of former Haryana chief minister and Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) founder on Tuesday, a group of people gathered in front of Bhajan Lal's house and claimed "he had given everything to the villagers and distributed jobs even by calling us to Chandigarh. But in the past 18 years, the number of unemployed youths in the village has increased".
If Bishnoi could win some seats, he would certainly form the government with any party and the long wait for the village's new generation for jobs would come to an end, said Devender.
Jagdish Bagri, another villager, said their village was in arid zone but Bhajan Lal not only ensured good drinking water supply to every household but also arranged sufficient water for irrigation. Now the place is one of the most fertile areas, he added.
Bagri further claimed that after Bhajan Lal's death, his wife Jasma Devi, sons Bishnoi and Chander Mohan visit the village frequently.
Most of the roofs here are dotted with yellow flags — symbolizing their support to HJC. The village has around 4800 votes, and three schools, a veterinary hospital and a primary health centre, which were set up during Bhajan Lal's regime. Dalits dominate the population, while Jats, Bishnois and Backward Classes are almost in equal numbers.
Mohammad Pur Rohi comes under Fatehabad assembly segment from where Bhajan Lal's nephew Duda Ram is contesting on HJC ticket. Duda's mother stays in Bishnoi family's ancestral village most of the time. The Haryana satrap's family had settled in this village after migrating from Koranwali in Bahawalpur district, now in Pakistan, where the former CM was born.