Ambala, Aug 25 (IANS) Former Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Sunday hit out at the Opposition, saying that the BJP was prepared for elections at any time in the state. “The date of elections can not only be extended but it can also be brought forward by a week. We are fully prepared, if the Election Commission of India (ECI) changes the date of elections by a week, we are ready,” he said. The opposition Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) slammed the BJP for seeking to change the polling date. Senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the BJP had “accepted defeat” by requesting to postpone the Assembly election date, asserting that the people were ready to throw out the incumbent government. Senior BJP leader Anil Vij also responded to the reports of Vinesh Phogat’s joining Congress. He said, “It is a decision of any party.” Vij said that the BJP recently held a marathon meeting that lasted two days and sent the names of three to four probable nominees for every seat in the 90-member Haryana Assembly to the Central Election Committee. During an exclusive interview with IANS on Thursday, former Haryana Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda advocated for a Rajya Sabha nomination for ‘heartbroken’ wrestler Vinesh Phogat. However, when asked if the Congress is considering offering her a ticket for the Assembly elections in Haryana, Hooda dismissed the query as hypothetical. Talking about the crime against women, Vij said,” Atrocities against women should stop, make any law for this, but along with this, politicians, sociologists, and religious leaders should also make the society aware. It is a good thing if such cases go to a fast-track court, punishing the culprit by hanging them. But, no one is talking about improving the society.” This comes amid the outrage over the Badlapur sexual assault incident wherein two four-year-old girls were molested on the premises of a school. Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Saturday said that those guilty of offences against women should be castrated.
