A congressional candidate asserts Devi Lal’s influence on politics
In the debate over the legacy of the late Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, Congress candidate and former Union Minister Jai Prakash, often known as JP, said that he should be the legitimate inheritor of Devi Lal’s political heritage since he was an employee of Chaudhary Devi Lal in 1989.
“Devi Lal has not left any family members to carry on his legacy. The true inheritors of his politics are workers like me who worked for him, he added, adding that they had tarnished his reputation (referring to Devi Lal’s relatives).
Referencing Devi Lal’s son Ranjit Singh and great-grandson Dushyant Chautala, Jai Prakash questioned if Devi Lal’s approach was to blame for the chaos these individuals had caused over the previous five years. Interestingly, Dushyant and Ranjit were both in the Haryana BJP administration. “In the Rajya Sabha election, Devi Lal’s grandson Ajay Chautala also supported the BJP,” he said. Notably, three Devi Lal family members are involved: Sunaina Chautala of the INLD, Naina Chautala of the JJP, and Ranjit Singh of the BJP.
Devi Lal was the leader of the Haryana Janata Dal, of which JP was the youth president. In 1989, JP, who was then close to Devi Lal’s son and the previous chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, won his first election on the Janata Dal ticket, defeating Congressman Birender Singh. In the Chander Shekhar cabinet, JP was also appointed to the Union Cabinet in 1990–1991 as the Minister of Petroleum.
The former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s comments against previous chief ministers Bhajan Lal and Bansi Lal have also drawn criticism from the Congress leader. He said that it was unacceptable for Khattar to have made hurtful comments against the deceased previous chief ministers. He said, “People are waiting for election day to punish the BJP and its leaders.”
According to Jai Prakash, people were determined to elevate the INDIA bloc to power at the Center. Ranjit Singh was accused by Jai Prakash of betraying the people of Adampur and Hisar. He said that Singh, the Haryana government’s Power Minister, had pledged to provide the residents of Dhanis access to electricity during the 2022 Adampur by-election. “However, following the bypoll, nothing was done,” he said.
