Chautala vs Centre

With a Congress-led government at the Centre, the going has got tougher for Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala. First blow came afte...

With a Congress-led government at the Centre, the going has got tougher for Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala. First blow came after the Centre declared Chautala8217;s much-touted goodwill visit to Pakistan to bring holy waters from the village of Bhai Kanhaiya8217;s village Sodhra as personal. Then the Union Government pruned the size of the Haryana delegation bound to England, France and Germany, the order coming after many of them had already packed their bags. But the last straw for Chautala perhaps was when the CM was again refused permission to go to Pakistan, this time to fetch the belongings of late farmer leader Sir Chhotu Ram. A wounded CM accused the Union Government of acting in a partisan manner, with an eye on the forthcoming elections. 8216;8216;But their dreams won8217;t materialise,8217;8217; Chautala said.

Brother8217;s blow

However, if it is laying claim to the legacy of Chhotu Ram that Chautala is looking at, there are protests even on the home front. Estranged brother Pratap Singh has accused Chautala of trying to lay claim to the political legacy of farmer leaders Charan Singh and Chhotu Ram when he was yet to prove he was worthy of the legacy of own father, former deputy prime minister Devi Lal. 8216;8216;Our father disowned him at one stage. This first election after his death would prove who actually inherits Devi Lal8217;s legacy,8217;8217; Pratap said.

BJP slams door

The other bad news for Chautala is the BJP insisting that its doors are firmly shut as far as former ally Indian National Lok Dal INLD is concerned. Chautala, however, remains hopeful. While a BJP core group meeting said recently that the party would fight the coming elections on its own, the CM has been telling everyone: 8216;8216;Rajniti mein sambhavnaon ka ant nahin hota Possibilities never end in politics.8217;8217; Even Chautala8217;s son Ajay Singh has expressed hope that there could be a re-alliance with the BJP.

Land-ing in a spot

An embarrassed Chautala government denotified the 19.5 acres of land proposed to be allotted to DLF Universal Pvt Ltd after opposition furore, only to find itself in another controversy. Experts said once acquired for public purpose, a piece of land cannot be denotified under Section 48 of the Land Acquisition Act.

Congress leader Karan Singh Dalal, who has been spearheading an agitation on the matter, claimed that the whole decision to denotify was taken to facilitate a direct deal between DLF and villagers. As proof, he pointed out that since the said land was with the Information Technology Department, there should not have been any hurry to take this kind of decision.