Chautala snaps ties, good riddance says BJP

Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief and Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala ended his alliance with the BJP today after a long-standing tiff bet...

Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief and Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala ended his alliance with the BJP today after a long-standing tiff between the partners.

The BJP, which has generally leaned on parties led by the Devi Lal clan or Bansi Lal’s Haryana Vikas Party over decades, may find the going tough if it goes to the Lok Sabha polls alone. But it has no choice either as the HVP has already ruled out alliance.

The development does not augur well for Chautala either. The BJP support enabled him to overcome his Jat chieftain’s image and benefit from the perceived ‘‘Vajpayee-factor’’. The INLD has only 48 MLAs in the 90-member Assembly. He has lost the support of six BJP legislators and the patronage of the Centre.

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Chautala announced his decision to pull out of the NDA Government at a Press conference at Gurgaon. ‘‘It is impossible to continue the alliance because of the negative attitude of BJP. Our alliance has come to an end…The BJP will realise its aukaat (worth) in the polls,’’ a party release said.

‘‘We have no comments to make on Chautala’s decision. He is free to decide what he wants,” BJP general secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said. “We will fight elections with a greater zeal in Haryana and improve our tally.’’ Haryana has 10 Lok Sabha seats, of which five each are held by INLD and BJP.

Haryana BJP president Ganeshi Lal said: ‘‘Chautala’s exit from NDA is most welcome. This is what we wished…he is under an illusion if he believes we are dependent on anybody’s crutches.’’

‘‘Good riddance” was all BJP legislature party leader Krishan Pal Gujar had to say.

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Chautala, a self-proclaimed Vajpayee ‘fan’’, called the NDA Government anti-farmer and the BJP, ‘‘anti-Haryana.’’ He said, ‘‘The BJP never followed the coalition-dharma while we always did so. We tolerated all their mistakes because we had promised to provide a stable government. When we tried to combat drought during the last four-and-a-half years, BJP MPs kept pulling us down rather than trying to get us some relief from the Centre.’’

He claimed that the Centre tried to keep away from the issue of SYL Canal even after the SC issued a directive that it be completed within one year.

Another grievance Chautala listed against the Centre was its failure to honour its promise to name a medical college after astronaut Kalpana Chawla. ‘‘The Centre has set up 12 medical colleges. Not one of them is named after her,’’ he added.

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