A day after BJP’s state president Mohan Lal Badoli appointed MLAs as in-charges of 42 Assembly constituencies where the party lost in the 2024 Assembly polls, Cabinet minister Anil Vij announced that he would soon begin a state-wide tour since he is the senior-most MLA of the BJP in Haryana.“They have been assigned one constituency each, but I have to oversee entire Haryana. I am the senior most MLA of my party. I have won seven times. So, soon, I shall begin a state-wide tour to meet both new and veteran party workers across various locations and check on their well-being,” Vij said while interacting with media persons.The BJP appointed the MLAs to work at the grassroots level to strengthen the party, identify new development areas, listen to public grievances, meet ground-level party workers and expand the party’s cadre.Vij has had a tumultuous relationship with former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, now a Union minister, and has previously made veiled comments about the current Chief Minister, Nayab Singh Saini. In January this year, Vij had taken a dig at CM Saini. He said, “Since assuming office, he (Saini) had been on an ‘udan khatola’ [chopper]. If he comes down, he will see the suffering of people.”The seven-time MLA, who holds three portfolios of Energy, Transport and Labour, also issued a stern warning to government officials that during his tours, he would be monitoring their functioning and assess if the government schemes were being duly implemented by the officials at the ground level. “Any laxity will not be tolerated,” he said.On the Opposition’s saffronisation allegation against the Army in the context of “Operation Mahadev and Shiv Shakti”, Vij remarked that “the Opposition is against all the traditions and beliefs of Hindustan”.Advising the Opposition, he said, “They should know that every unit of our Army has temples and gurdwaras. They should also know that when our brave soldiers charge toward the enemy, they shout ‘Jai Bajrang Bali!’ They must understand that many military operations in our country have been named after Hindu traditions or Indian cultural identities.”Story continues below this ad“The Opposition should be ashamed. Should we name our operations after Pakistani missiles or other foreign references? The Opposition has completely strayed from real issues. In the name of political opposition to the Prime Minister, they have now started opposing the country itself. They are even targeting our national beliefs, centres of faith and religious traditions,” Vij added.Later in the day, Vij heard grievances of people of his constituency. He also issued directions to the Superintendent of Police (Ambala) to investigate and register FIR in the matter of alleged forced eviction of people from Barfkhana area land in Ambala. “Marcelino Noronha and his family, who have been residing on the Barfkhana land for approximately 85 years, submitted a complaint alleging that some individuals forcibly evicted them from their home through intimidation and threats. The family informed Minister Anil Vij that they had filed a complaint at the Cantonment police station on May 13, but no FIR was registered. Responding to the complaint, Vij instructed the SP to take strict action,” a spokesperson said.