INLD, JD (U) reach out to Congress, AAP

Chandigarh, September 16

Indian National Lok Dal (INLD)’s principal general secretary Abhay Chautala and Janata Dal (U) chief spokesperson KC Tyagi held a joint press conference and said the Congress and the AAP would be invited for the September 25 rally.

The Kaithal rally will mark the birth anniversary of former deputy PM Devi Lal. “It is not a political rally. Those who were once associated with Chaudhary Devi Lal are coming together on one stage,” said Tyagi.

In 1987, if the Janata Dal had not been formed due to the efforts of Devi Lal, the Congress with 422 seats would not have been ousted from power, he said. It was Haryana that first laid the foundation of non-Congress and non-BJP politics, he stated, adding that “almost everyone from the INDIA alliance has been invited”.

Answering a question, Tyagi said, “We had never considered INLD out of the INDIA alliance.” The INLD was a big force in Haryana and almost all parties in the opposition block had once worked under Devi Lal’s leadership.

To defeat the BJP, they would have to form a big alliance with a big heart, he asserted.

Abhay said the foundation of the INDIA alliance was laid in Fatehabad on September 25, 2022, when the party had organised the rally. “At that time, there was a talk of non-Congress and non-BJP alternatives, but Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had said that without the Congress, no alternative could become strong. We have no hesitation in going with the Congress. If we want to oust the BJP, we have to leave the politics of selfishness and get organised,” he said.

Taking a dig at former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, he said three days ago he claimed that the Congress was capable of winning all 10 Lok Sabha seats of Haryana. “If it is capable of winning all 10 seats, why did the Congress lose all seats in the last Lok Sabha elections?” he questioned. — TNS

Kejriwal, Kharge on guest list

I will talk to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and invite them to the rally. Whether they come or not is their decision. — Abhay Chautala, INLD principal gen secy