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Law & order situation ‘deteriorating’, Haryana needs full-time home minister: Dushyant
The BJP had stitched a post-assembly poll alliance with the JJP in October 2019 that ended in March this year after the BJP replaced Manohar Lal Khattar with Nayab Singh Saini as chief minister
Taking on the Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government for failing to maintain law and order in Haryana, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader and former deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala on Thursday demanded that the state should have “a full-time home minister” and ruled out alliance with the ruling BJP before or after the Haryana assembly polls due in October.
The BJP had stitched a post-assembly poll alliance with the JJP in October 2019 that ended in March this year after the BJP replaced Manohar Lal Khattar with Nayab Singh Saini as chief minister.
Addressing his first press conference since the humiliating defeat of the JJP candidates in the Lok Sabha elections, the former deputy chief minister promised to support the Congress in the Rajya Sabha election if the Congress fields a joint candidate who is a prominent personality or an eminent person from the field of sports.
After Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda won from the Rohtak Lok Sabha constituency, a seat in the Upper House of Parliament has fallen vacant in Haryana.
While continuing his attack over law and order, Chautala said the state had not seen such heinous crimes in 20 years that it had witnessed over the past week. He said a couple was murdered in a park at Hansi, while criminals dared to open fire at public places in broad daylight.
“Former home minister Anil Vij was a better home minister. Chief minister Saini has failed as home minister. Anti-social elements are roaming freely,” Chautala said, reiterating that the law and order situation in the past week has deteriorated alarmingly in every district.
“This proves that the Haryana chief minister as home minister has completely failed. We demand that the state should have a full-time home minister. The chief minister has not been able to pay attention to law and order,” Chautala said.
Responding to a question, Chautala said the JJP suffered a setback because of its alliance with the BJP that is facing “strong anti-incumbency”. He admitted that the JJP bore the brunt of the anger of farmers.
“Genhu ke saath ghun bhi pista hai (weevil is also ground along with the wheat),” he said, adding that the JJP will not ally with the BJP in the assembly elections. “People were angry with the BJP. We suffered because of our alliance with it. We will not join hands with the party,” he said, repeatedly ruling out any pre or post-poll alliance with the BJP.
The recent Lok Sabha results have shown that “what the BJP had to face, we too had to face that,” Chautala said and admitted that his JJP also bore the brunt of farmers’ anger.
“Let me make it clear that there is no point of going with the BJP in future...the loss JJP has suffered (in Lok Sabha election) is because of our alliance with the BJP,” he said, adding that JJP will hold meetings with its workers across the state to seek feedback and rebuild the organisation in the run-up to the assembly elections due in October.
The vote share of the JJP, which was the coalition partner of the BJP in the state till March, came down to 0.87% in the recent Lok Sabha elections as compared to 4.9% in the 2019 parliamentary polls.
