Opposition disarray brings cheer to Chautala

Haryana: One-man show
Some tense moments with the Governor and a Supreme Court rap on the knuckles notwithstanding, Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala had a largely peaceful year. None of his rivals could give him sleepless nights, reports Yoginder Gupta.

THE year 2003, like the previous three years, did not see any meaningful political challenge to Om Prakash Chautala, who continued to rule Haryana with an iron fist. Despite grave provocations, like the arrest of many a leader who considered themselves to be satraps, none of his political rivals could give him any sleepless nights. However, what his rivals could not do, two constitutional authorities - the Governor and the Supreme Court - were able to do.

Whenever Chautala found time from his sojourn in Rajasthan, he took on one or the other of his second-rung political opponents like former Ministers Rao Narbir Singh and Jai Prakash Barwala. Either out of strategy or foresight, he avoided any action against all those leaders whom he considered to be potential chief ministerial candidates.

During the year, he faced one byelection and two Assembly elections. His party won the Fatehabad Assembly byelection, third time in a row. The Fatehabad victory, however, also rang the alarm bells in his camp. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), which had won the Rori and Yamunanagar Assembly byelections with handsome margins, had to contend with a much-reduced margin in Fatehabad. This was a clear signal that the popularity of the INLD was on decline in the third year of its rule. To boost the morale of its supporters, the INLD organised one of the biggest rallies in the state when the birth anniversary of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal was celebrated in September last at Karnal.

However, Chautala, who loves challenges, was not deterred by the reduced victory margin at Fatehabad. He made forays in Delhi and Rajasthan. Like western Uttar Pradesh, the INLD would like to forget its Delhi experience like a bad dream. Its candidates in the national Capital fared poorly, to put it politely. Chautala's party did taste success in Rajasthan, where its nominees won four of the 49 seats contested by it.

Chautala's propaganda machinery was able to claim that his party had emerged as the third force in the desert state after the BJP and the Congress. It conveniently forgot to mention that the score of the second force, the Congress, was 16 times higher than that of the INLD.

The sweetness of the INLD's limited success in Rajasthan was further diluted by the absolute majority obtained by the BJP. The INLD had hoped for a scenario in which the electorate's verdict would be split, giving a chance to Chautala to play the role of a king maker. Alas, it was not to be. After the election results were out, the INLD, which had vigorously campaigned against both the Congress and the BJP, claimed that its gameplan of ensuring the defeat of the Congress in Rajasthan had succeeded.

At home too, the INLD's relations with its alliance partner, the BJP, remained far from cordial. Perhaps it was a deliberate move on the part of the BJP high command that a known anti-Chautala leader, Prof Ganeshi Lal, was made the head of the Haryana unit of the party. A Prohibition Minister in the Bansi Lal Government, Prof Ganeshi Lal faces a Commission of Inquiry for his alleged role in the illegal sale of liquor in those days.

The Leader of the Haryana BJP Legislature Party, Krishan Pal Gurjar, has been having a running feud with Chautala for the past four years. Gurjar too faces an inquiry by the State Vigilance Bureau for allegedly amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The BJP is still undecided whether to go with the INLD in the next elections or not. The state unit is opposed to any truck with the INLD.

The Congress remained a divided house. Its leaders were more interested in demolishing each other. They had no time to take on Chautala. Despite several threats, all factions of the Congress failed to launch any agitation of substance against the INLD government. Its only hope of coming to power is Chautala himself. The Congress leaders feel that they would get votes of those who would be inimical to the Chief Minister. They are convinced that by the time the elections would be held, the number of such voters would be enough to see them through.

Bansi Lal's Haryana Vikas Party, which proved that it was on the comeback trail by winning the second slot in the Yamunanagar Assembly byelection last year, continues to gain ground. It got a good number of votes in the Fatehabad Assembly byelection. The party has already released its manifesto in which virtually something has been promised to every section of society.

Chautala, who seemed politically unbeatable, was not so lucky with the judiciary. Despite a direction by the Supreme Court on the SYL canal last year, which generated hopes that the lifeline of Haryana would be completed by January 15 last, the issue continues to linger in legal corridors. It was only in the last month of the year that the apex court gave some hope to Haryana about its early completion when it indicated that it wanted to decide the case expeditiously.

The Supreme Court, however, took a hard stand on certain other issues. It directed the state government to hold its hand on the controversial issue of premature release of convicts. The apex court also ordered a CBI inquiry into the recruitment of JBT teachers when a former Director, Primary Education, Sanjiv Kumar, filed a petition alleging that he was being harassed by the powers that be because he had refused to oblige them in the selection of teachers.

The relationship between the Governor and the Chief Minister also remained tense. The Governor, Babu Parmanand, won many admirers when he referred the Casino Bill, one of the pet projects of Chautala to the President. He also refused to sign an Ordinance making certain changes in the election process of panchayati raj institutions and civic bodies. He had also put his foot down when the Cabinet wanted to release certain convicts before they had completed their term.

During the year, Haryana became the first state to implement the value-added tax (VAT) system, while the others dragged their feet on the tax regime reforms for fear of popular backlash. The year also saw the state getting a new university, when Choudhary Devi Lal University was set up at Sirsa. There was some opposition from a section of students of Jind and Bhiwani districts when their colleges were affiliated to the new university. The government, however, remained adamant. The agitation died a natural death.

The year was not so good for the bureaucracy and the media. An IAS officer, Ajit Mohan Sharan, as well as an IPS officer, R.S. Yadav, were arrested on corruption charges. If it was a Sirsa-based journalist, Ram Chander Chhatterpati, who was murdered at the hands of religious fundamentalists last year, 2003 witnessed the murder of a Kaithal-based newsman, Parmanand Goel, who fell to the bullets of unidentified assailants. At certain other places like Rohtak and Palwal, the media was under attack.

A good monsoon assured that the state's economy was booming. Agriculture production reached a record level. The production of even bajra was a record. Its growers had every reason to be happy when the state agencies purchased their produce at the minimum support price, which was almost twice the market price.

Kurukshetra established itself firmly on the religio-tourism map by holding the five-day Gita Utsav towards the end of the year.