Alliance with JJP goes against interests of saffron party: BJP’s Birender Singh

Nearly two weeks ago, Birender Singh had held a rally in Haryana’s Jind and threatened to quit the party if it continued its alliance with JJP in Haryana. He had accused the Dushyant Chautala-led outfit of indulging in rampant corruption. However, the next day, Dushyant’s younger brother and JJP senior leader Digvijay Chautala had alleged that “many leaders, as part of a conspiracy, are making false and frivolous allegations against JJP and Dushyant Chautala”.

When asked about the response of his party leaders regarding his Jind rally, Birender Singh said, “BJP’s response was good. They (the party) are happy that I have initiated some new moves to reach out to the electorate. I have told them (BJP leaders) to hold meetings, rallies and big gatherings in this election year.”

Birender Singh, who spent 42 years in Congress before moving to BJP in 2014, doesn’t see the infighting in Congress as a “very serious issue”. He says: “There is no infighting in Congress. There are groups, and those groups have enjoyed power for a very long time. And they just want to make their presence felt, and ensure that they are still a force to reckon with and are not ignored by the party. That can’t be called groupism, this is only to show their worth within the party.”

However, Birender Singh does not agree with the recent statement of senior Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda who had said that Haryana will have four deputy CMs if Congress was voted to power in the 2024 assembly polls. Birender Singh said: “He should have said if Congress comes to power there may be four deputy CMs and one CM. He (Hooda) made the statement and explained it as if he would be the CM (as if it’s a foregone conclusion) and he will ensure that there are four other deputy CMs in the state. That is a wrong way to put the statement.”