Nuh (HR), Sep 27 (PTI) Indian National Lok Dal chief Abhay Chautala on Sunday expressed confidence that his party will form the next government in Haryana by ousting the BJP from power, while the Congress will also be kept at bay.
He lashed out at Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda, alleging that the Congress was working like the “B-team of the BJP” and took a veiled dig at Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), accusing it of helping the saffron party form a government in the state in 2019.
Chautala was addressing the “Samman Diwas” rally organised here to mark the 113th birth anniversary of former deputy prime minister and former Haryana chief minister Chaudhary Devi Lal.
Lal was born on September 25, 1914 and passed away on April 6, 2001. Each year, INLD observes his birth anniversary as “Samman Diwas”.
Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, INLD patron Sampat Singh, and the party’s state unit president Rampal Majra also attended the rally.
Chautala said people have gathered in large numbers to pay tribute to Lal and to send a message about the political change they want in Haryana. He said people came on their own to take part in the rally, which reflected their faith in Lal and his political legacy.
“The message is that the next government in Haryana is going to be formed by the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). The BJP will be ousted out of power, and the Congress party will also be kept at bay,” he said.
Recalling the 1989 gathering at Delhi’s Boat Club to mark Devi Lal’s birth anniversary, Chautala said lakhs of people had assembled back then, with the Opposition also sharing the stage, triggering discussions about the Congress losing power at the Centre and the possible formation of a Janata Dal government.
He said the current gathering, which saw people arriving from across Haryana, was sending a similar message of change in the state.
In an indirect reference to the JJP headed by his elder brother Ajay Singh Chautala, the INLD chief said people had made up their mind to oust the BJP in 2019 but “10 greedy people” who had won by promising to take Lal’s policies forward, helped the BJP form the government in 2019, to serve their own interests.
He was referring to the JJP’s post-poll alliance with the BJP in Haryana in 2019. Ajay’s son Dushyant Chautala had become the deputy chief minister in the Manohar Lal Khattar government formed that year.
Lashing out at LoP Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the INLD chief accused him and associates of conspiring to help the BJP in the 2024 assembly polls.
He alleged that in 2024, when surveys indicated that the Congress was moving towards a victory, Hooda and his “company” worked in a manner that helped the BJP retain power.
Hooda persuaded the high command to retain all sitting MLAs and deny tickets to nine candidates in a winning position, allegedly under pressure from the BJP and Union Home Minister Amit Shah amid a money-laundering investigation linked to alleged land irregularities and the prospect of going to jail, Chautala said.
He said the INLD, if voted to power, will focus on ending drug abuse, unemployment and corruption.
“The first task will be to eliminate the growing menace of drugs in Haryana. The second will be to provide employment to a member in every household. Along with this, we will crack down on corruption and work to send those involved in corruption behind bars,” he said.
Chautala also promised to abolish the various “portals” that he said have been inconveniencing farmers.
Recalling that Chaudhary Devi Lal had a special attachment to the Mewat region, and former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala had also left no stone unturned for the region’s betterment, the INLD chief promised to develop the area into “a metropolitan city, on the lines of Gurugram”.
The INLD urged supporters to prepare for another phase of political mobilisation and fight for their rights.
“Learn to fight for your rights now, and start preparing for the next struggle,” he exhorted the gathering. “You have to wage a long struggle for three consecutive years for your rights and for your state. And a long struggle can be fought only when we have patience, discipline and unity.”
Chautala announced that from November, he and INLD state president Rampal Majra will undertake a village-to-village programme across Haryana to thank people and expose the alleged “nexus” between the BJP and the Congress. PTI ADI SUN RUK
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