NEW DELHI: Jannayak Janta Party leader Digvijay Chautala on Friday claimed that former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda prevented the formation of a ‘grand alliance’ for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and after assembly elections in the state later that year.
– गठबंधन के विषय पर जेजेपी @JJPofficial प्रधान महासचिव दिग्विजय चौटाला @DVJChautala का बड़ा खुलासा
– प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस कर सबूत सहित पूर्व सीएम भूपेंद्र हुड्डा @BhupinderShooda और दीपेंद्र हुड्डा @DeependerSHooda के झूठ की खोली पोल
– चुनाव-2019 के परिणाम के बाद जेजेपी विधायक दल की…— Vivek Choudhary (@ChVivekJJP) April 7, 2023
Chautala, the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) general secretary, and the party’s state unit chief Nishan Singh were speaking at a press conference in Gurugram where they launched the Indian National Students Organisation’s membership campaign. Chautala alleged that Hooda and his son, Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda, were spreading lies and, as a result, there was a need to clarify certain issues regarding the ”coalition”.
He said after the 2019 assembly elections results were announced, JJP MLAs proposed a coalition offer on three main issues — 75 per cent reservation for local residents in jobs, 50 per cent reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions and old-age pension. Chautala said his brother, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, agreed that the JJP would form an alliance with any party that came on board on these issues.
He claimed that many Congress leaders also agreed with the JJP’s common minimum programme but Hooda’s ”negative appraoch” became an impediment. Chautala claimed that the Congress leader wanted the JJP to first offer support before talking about the issues and gathering the support of Independents. However, the-then BJP chief Amit Shah agreed with the JJP’s demands and reached an agreement on government formation, he said.
Chautala said Hooda, the leader of opposition in the Haryana Assembly, recently claimed that there was never any conversation about an alliance but his son said they were ready to agree on all conditions. The JJP leader added that the father-son duo should clarify their position instead of misleading the public.
He went to claim that even in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, there were talks of a grand alliance that would also include the AAP. There was even an agreement on a seat-sharing formula with seven going to the Congress, two to the JJP and one to the AAP. Even then, Hooda was the obstacle, Chautala alleged. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was also unhappy over the failure to form an alliance, Chautala claimed.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won all 10 seats from Haryana.
Chautala alleged that Hooda is busy securing the political future of his son, a Rajya Sabha MP, and even sacrificed senior leaders such as Rao Inderjeet, Kuldeep Bishnoi, Ashok Tanwar and Kumari Shelja.
