Ajay Chautala with his son Dushyant Chautala. (File Photo) With no end to the ongoing standoff between the Centre and the farmer outfits over the agri laws in sight, JJP founder and Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala’s father Ajay Chautala Saturday claimed that he has his son’s resignation letter in his pocket and “can give it immediately” if it serves any purpose. The statement comes amid mounting pressure on the Jananyak Janata Party, both from within from the protesting farmers, to pull out of its alliance with the BJP.
Talking to the media persons in Sirsa, Ajay Chautala said, “As far as Dushyant’s resignation is concerned, it is in my pocket. I can immediately give it, if it serves any purpose. The Union government has made these legislations. Either the Union government should resolve this issue or all 10 Lok Sabha MPs from Haryana or all five members of Rajya Sabha, who endorsed these laws, should resign”.
The JJP leader said resignation of any minister, or that of Dushyant won’t solve anything, but “if it serves any purpose…I would not take a minute”. He, however, added that those demanding resignation should assure that they would also get the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal water issue resolved too. “The SYL is Haryana’s lifeline,” he added.
Ajay Chautala is currently out on parole from New Delhi’s Tihar Jail where he is undergoing a sentence 10-year in the JBT teachers’ recruitment scam case.
Reacting to Indian National Lok Dal’s Abhay Singh Chautala, who is also his elder brother, resigning from the Haryana Assembly, Ajay Chautala said, “No purpose was served with his resignation”.
Abhay, who was his party’s only MLA, on January 27 had resigned from the Assembly over Union government’s failure to repeal the three farm legislations. He is the first MLA in the 90-member House in to have resigned expressing solidarity with the farmers. While some Independent MLAs had earlier withdrawn their support from the ruling alliance, at least seven of the 10 JJP MLAs had in the past demanded the repeal of the three farms laws.
Ajay Chautala, however, said that any problem can be resolved with discussion. “If talks are held and both the sides take a step back, only then a resolution can be achieved. Farmers had started with certain issues, clarifications had been given by the agriculture minister. The Prime Minister has specifically said that government was ready to resolve issues on which objections are being raised. Yet, if people are not satisfied, what can be done? They should go and hold discussions with the government. There can be solutions only when both sides bend a little,” Ajay Chautala said.
Ever since the agitation against the farms laws shifted to the Delhi borders nearly three months ago, pressure has been building up on JJP in general and Dushyant in particular to take a stand and walk out of the alliance. Dushyant earlier had said that he will be the first to resign if he fails to ensure MSP for every farmer in state.
The protesting farmers, however, are not satisfied and several villages in Haryana have passed resolutions against Dushyant, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and other ruling alliance leaders barring their entry in respective areas. Many of the BJP and JJP leaders have not been able to hold any public function in the recent past due to spate of incidents
of violence and protests at the venues.
The Opposition Congress has been demanding a special Assembly session with former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda saying that he wants to brings a no-confidence motion against the government.
Khattar, however, has said that his government is “very secure” and will complete its five year term. “Our government is not going anywhere. It is a very secure government. It will complete its five years and, if the behavior of the opposition continues in the same manner, it will remain in power the next five years too,” he had said Friday in Gurgaon.
Following Abhay Chautala’s resignation and disqualification of Congress’s Pardeep Chaudhary, the effective strength of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha is 88, including 40 MLAs of BJP and 10 of JJP. The Congress has 30 MLAs, and one MLA belongs to the Haryana Lokhit Party. Seven MLAs are independents. The simple majority mark in the House too has come down from 46 MLAs to 45 members now.