Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala launches party, stakes claim to grandfather Devi Lal’s legacy

A month after he was expelled from the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) by his grandfather and former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala on Sunday launched a new political outfit Jannayak Janta Dal at a rally in Jind, considered the political heartland of the state.

Dushyant and his brother Digvijay, sons of OP Chautala’s elder son Ajay, were expelled from INLD last month after an internal inquiry found them guilty of indiscipline. A few days later, Ajay too was expelled from the party on grounds of indulging in anti-party activities. On November 17, Ajay, out on parole, announced the plan to float a new party. Ajay Chautala, undergoing a 10-year jail term with father Om Prakash Chautala since 2013 in a teachers’ recruitment scam, could not attend the rally as he was denied parole.

Addressing the rally, Dushyant said following the ideology of his great-grandfather, he was launching the party to decimate the ruling BJP, Congress and the INLD in Haryana. Dushyant’s new party flag has the photo of his great-grandfather, former deputy prime minister and two-time Haryana CM, Devi Lal. Dushyant said his father Ajay was the rightful successor to Devi Lal’s pagdi (turban, a symbol of legacy).

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Launching scathing attacks on rival parties, Dushyant said the Congress in its 10-year rule in Haryana robbed poor farmers of their land in every district. He said if their party was voted to power, they would waive farm loans, introduce a law to cap fee in private schools and bring back the old pension scheme.