CHANDIGARH: Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) chief Dushyant Chautala’s father Ajay Chautala on Sunday morning was released from Tihar jail after being granted furlough for two weeks. During his first engagement with the media, Ajay said that the JJP will never ally with the Congress party as it was born out of protest against the grand old party’s ideology.
Senior Chautala further lauded his son’s performance in the recently held state assembly election in Haryana and said that his son’s hard work and dedication “established the organisation in a mere 11 months.” He further said that Dushyant’s party proved his calibre in front of the stalwarts in politics.
Ajay Chautala was on Saturday granted furlough, Director General of Tihar Central jail had confirmed. He is likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony of his son Dushyant who will take oath as Haryana deputy CM on Sunday.
Dushyant had met his father at Tihar jail complex shortly before meeting his 10 legislators on Friday to take a decision on supporting the BJP, following which he and Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced a post-poll coalition in Haryana after assembly election verdict threw a hung assembly.
Speaking on the severed ties with Indian National Lok Dal, Ajay said, “The devastating consequences of separation has caused suffering to both the families and the people of the state.” He further said, “I will always advocate this– Elders of the family will always feel welcomed.”
On October 24, Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda had called for all the rivals of the BJP, including INLD, JJP and independents to come together and form a strong coalition government against the BJP.
In the assembly election, the BJP bagged 40 seats and the Congress won 31 seats, while the JJP emerged as the ‘kingmaker’ after bagging 10 seats. With the JJP’s and independents’ support, the BJP will have 57 members in the 90-member state assembly.
Ajay Chautala has been lodged in the Tihar jail since 2013. Ajay Chautala and his father Om Prakash Chautala were convicted in January 2013 by a Delhi court in connection with illegal recruitment of over 3,000 teachers. Both were found guilty of taking a bribe in exchange for selecting teachers.