Dushyant challenges expulsion from INLD

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 10

Challenging his expulsion from the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) by stating it to be illegal, Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala on Saturday said that the future course of action would be decided on November 17 at a meeting of the state executive to be held in Jind.

Addressing a press conference here to give his version of the accusations of hooliganism levelled against him and his brother, Digvijay, who has also been expelled from the INLD, Dushyant trained his guns on his uncle, Abhay Chautala, also the Leader of the Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha.

“We have raised issues of unemployment and farmers in Parliament and outside. However, these were surprisingly never taken up in the Vidhan Sabha where, I hear, that the party was the ‘B team’ of the ruling BJP government,” he alleged.

Maintaining that he would not accept his expulsion from the party till he received such a decision signed by party supremo and former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, Dushyant said no process was followed for the same.

“I am in the INLD which is not the fiefdom of ‘some people’. Till this is signed by the party chief, I will be in the INLD. A committee headed only by the party supremo can decide the expulsion. Additionally, the principal secretary general of the party, our father, Ajay Chautala, is the patron of the student wing, INSO, headed by Digvijay, and nobody other than him can dissolve it,” he said.

The MP claimed that he was happy staying away from Chandigarh and was content with managing the Hisar parliamentary seat he represented. Dushyant said there was not a single instance of any anti-party activity or an indication of any him trying to orchestrate a break-up in the party.

Maintaining that the chairman of the committee constituted for looking into these allegations gave a one-sided decision without bothering to hear them out, Dushyant said that the former has since maintained he has been unwell. “If the chairman was unwell, it means no meeting of the committee was held. This means the expulsion is the handiwork of some people within the party who prepared the report and asked the committee chairman to sign,” the MP claimed, accompanied by two sitting MLAs, a few former MLAs and supporters.

Stating that the state executive meeting on November 17 was crucial to the future course of action, he said that a decision would be taken after consulting all district chiefs.