Amarinder cautions against 'Chautala-Badal nexus'

Chandigarh: Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today attacked INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala saying instead of “dreaming” to rule Haryana from Tihar jail he should feel “ashamed” of his conviction “for robbing his own people” and warned voters against “Chautala-Badal nexus”. The Congress MP asked the people of Haryana to ensure that Congress returns to power in the state.[caption id=“attachment_1748225” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Congress leader Amarinder Singh. PTI[/caption] Singh also warned against the “false promises being doled out by the BJP to mislead the people of Haryana.” He was addressing a public meeting at Nalwi village in Kurukshetra district in support of the Congress candidate Anil Kumar Dhantauri. The Congress leader referred to the “devastation caused in Punjab by the eight year rule of the Akalis led by the Badals, who are in alliance with the Chautalas in Haryana”. “The way they have looted and robbed Punjab, they will together do it in Haryana,” he warned. Chautala-led INLD is contesting the 15 October Haryana Assembly polls in alliance with Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal). While INLD has fielded 88 candidates, the remaining two seats in the 90-member Assembly are being fought by SAD candidates. He also ridiculed Chautala’s claims of ruling from Tihar jail. The 79-year-old Chautala, who is out on bail on health grounds in teachers’ recruitment scam, had a fortnight ago said that he will take oath as the next Chief Minister from Tihar jail, where he was lodged before getting bail. “It is extreme shamelessness that a person who has already been convicted is claiming to rule from Tihar jail,” he said, while adding, “he (Chautala) should instead feel ashamed of having been convicted for robbing his own people”. Amarinder Singh, who is Congress MP from Amritsar, said, the Badals were no different in Punjab. He also congratulated the people of Haryana, and Nalwi in particular, for their successful struggle to get their own independent SGPC. “The Badals in collusion with the Chautalas tried their best to ensure it did not happen so that they could continue with their loot of the Gurdwara funds,” he said. Amarinder also warned people against the “false dreams” being shown by the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “You have seen for yourself as what they promised before elections for the country and what they have delivered,” he said, adding, “they are now trying to use same ploy in Haryana as well.” Lauding the development carried out by the Congress government in the state, he told the people, “on the one hand you have the ten years of development in front of your eyes and on the other hand you have the fake and false promises being made by a man who is already destined to return to Tihar jail (taking dig at Chautala)..”. PTI