Now, INLD tries to woo farmers with jailed ex-Haryana CM Chautala’s message

Party assures to waive their loans and agriculture-related electricity bills.

Pushed to the margins in Haryana politics, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) on Monday came up with a show of strength at a rally in Bhiwani’s Ninan village.

INLD leaders Ajay Chautala and Abhay Chautala, (sitting in the middle), MP Dushyant Chautala (left) and INSO president Digvijay Singh Chautala (right) at a rally in Bhiwani on Monday. (Manoj Dhaka/HT)

Senior party leader Ajay Chautala, who is currently out on parole from Delhi’s Tihar jail where he is serving 10-year sentence along with his father and former Haryana chief minister Om Parkash Chautala in JBT recruitment scam, presided over the function. The rally was organised by the party to mark 104th birth anniversary of veteran party leader and former deputy prime minister Devi Lal.

Ajay, along with his brother Abhay Chutala and JD(U) leader KC Tyagi, reached the rally venue in a chopper and they joined Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala and his brother Digvijay Chautala.

Attacking the BJP for not keeping its promises, Abhay read out his jailed father’s message to farmers, assuring them a loan waiver if INLD is voted back to power again. He also assured that his party will waive off agriculture-related electricity bills and cut the domestic bills of farmers to half.

On behalf of Chautala, Abhay also promised a hike in pension of senior citizens to Rs 2,500, and assured jobs in every household and unemployment allowance to youth. He promised a grant of Rs 5 lakh to poor families to solemnise weddings of their daughters, and lashed out at the government for failing to take any considerable steps to prevent gory crimes against women in the state.

The INLD, which is out of power for the past 13 years in Haryana, blamed the BJP government for violence after Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s conviction and during the Jat agitation, accusing it of snuffing out young lives and ruining businesses of poor families for personal vote gain.

Dushyant Chautala said the job scenario in Gurgaon has been abysmal. He said the Millennium City is the pride of the state and country, yet the share of people of Haryana in its prosperity is minimal. He said the government was not giving any regular jobs to the youth in any sector.

The rally witnessed a massive crowd donning green colour turbans, scarfs and flags. The arrival of a large number of tractor-trailers caused traffic jams up to several kilometres on the Rohtak-Bhiwani highway.