Haryana Advocate-Gen resigns
By Yoginder Gupta
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 19 — The Advocate-General of Haryana, Mr Mohan Jain, has resigned, it is reliably learnt.

All efforts to contact Mr Jain remained futile. The person attending the phone at his residence-cum-camp office said Mr Jain was not available.

According to informed sources, Mr Jain’s resignation was not unexpected. That Mr Jain may quit had been in the air since November 6, the day Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala dropped two heavyweight ministers, Mr Narbir Singh and Mr Brij Mohan Singla, and inducted 10 others in his Ministry.

Mr Jain’s friendship with Mr Singla and Mr Narbir Singh is no secret.

Over the last one year Mr Jain had emerged as the nodal point for dissident activities against the then Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal. At least two serious attempts to dislodge Mr Bansi Lal were engineered by Mr Narbir Singh and Mr Singla with the help of Mr Jain between January 1, 1999, and June 30, 1999. It is another matter that the attempts failed and Mr Bansi Lal survived, till support was withdrawn first by the BJP and then by the Congress.

With Mr Jain’s resignation, all the three men (Mr Narbir Singh, Mr Singla and Mr Jain) who are credited with the downfall of Mr Bansi Lal and subsequent tilt of scales in favour of Mr Chautala in July last, have fallen out of grace with the INLD Government.

Mr Jain remained present in the Vidhan Sabha during the two-day winter session which concluded on November 16.