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Chautala victimising opponents: Ex-Ministers

By Rajesh Ahuja

CHANDIGARH AUG. 26 .Two former Haryana Ministers who were instrumental in the downfall of the Bansi Lal regime and the formation of the Chautala Government in July 1999----Narbir Singh and Brij Mohan Singla -- today virtually launched a vitriolic attack on the Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala, and his sons and accused them of victimising their political opponents on false grounds.

Interestingly, Rao Narbir Singh was quite bitter about his recent incarceration in Gurgaon jail for 55 days after the Vigilance Bureau slapped cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act against him.

The former Minister said he had committed a big mistake by pulling down the erstwhile Bansi Lal regime and extending support to Om Prakash Chautala. Interestingly, Rao Narbir Singh had served as a Minister in the interim Cabinet of Mr.Chautala till the time of the dissolution of the Assembly in 1999. Thereafter he had fallen out with the powers that be.

The two leaders, who are not aligned with any political party at present, charged that the Chief Minister was indulging in lopsided development and the Gurgaon and Mewat belts were being completely ignored and the funds were being diverted to constituencies represented by the Chief Minister and his son.

Rao Narbir Singh said that he would convene a meeting of his supporters at Rewari on August 31 to chalk out his further strategy. He talked about forging unity among all like-minded leaders to form a political front to fight against "corruption'' and the present-day rulers.

While hinting that he could join the Congress also if his supporters gave him the green signal, he was however blunt in his indirect criticism of the former Chief Minister and president of the Haryana unit of the Congress, Bhajan Lal. He openly agreed with the recent controversial statement of the dissident Congress MLA, Raghubir Singh Kadian, accusing the three Lals of protecting each other's interests. Rao Narbir Singh went further and asked why only he was singled out and charged with "corruption'' while mighty and powerful persons were totally "untouched''.

"This clearly corroborated the allegations that the three Lals did nothing to harm each other's interests while they bragged about initiating action against each other," he charged.

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