13 of 18 MLAs at Abhay meet

Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 17

Contrary to speculation that some more MLAs could desert Abhay Singh Chautala’s camp to join his elder brother Ajay Singh Chautala, 13 out of 18 INLD MLAs attended today’s state executive meeting here, while two legislators sent letters of support.

INLD MP from Sirsa Charanjit Singh Rori and Rajya Sabha MP Ram Kumar Kashyap also attended the meeting, leaving only Uklana MLA Anoop Dhanak, Charkhi Dadri MLA Rajdeep Fogat and Dabwali MLA Naina Singh Chautala among the legislators and Dushyant Singh Chautala among MPs in Ajay Singh’s camp.

Narwana MLA Prithvi Singh Nambardar, who had met Ajay Singh a day after Diwali, was seen sitting at Abhay Singh’s meeting.

Though no major decision was taken in the executive committee meeting barring reposing confidence in the leadership of party patriarch Om Prakash Chautala and launch of ‘Adhikar Yatra’ from Kurukshetra from December 1, the meeting served the purpose for which it had been convened — to stop party MLAs and prominent leaders from going to Ajay Singh’s rally in Jind.

Ram Chander Kamboj (Rania), who is said to be hospitalised, and Nagender Bhadana (Faridabad NIT) did not attend the meeting, but their letters expressing support were read out.

“Two MLAs (Nagender Bhadana and Prithvi Singh) have already returned, the other two (Anoop Dhanak and Rajdeep Fogat) will also return by tomorrow for the fear of a new party,” Abhay Singh claimed later.

He said he tried his best till late last evening that if Ajay Singh agreed to cancel the Jind meeting and his sons were ready to apologise before Chautala, he would get a resolution for revocation of their expulsion passed and send it to Chautala for implementation.

He said he was surprised  at the turn of events “because those who revolted were in fact at the helm of all wings”.