Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala Sunday said the alliance between his Jannayak Janta Party and the BJP is a must for Haryana to have a stable government.
His comments came almost a month after BJP leader Birender Singh threatened to quit the party if it did not sever ties with the JJP, which he had accused of indulging in rampant corruption in the state.
"I am not hearing such things for the first time," Chautala replied when reporters asked him to comment on Singh's threat. "I don't think anyone saying so will have an impact on the government working." "If Haryana has to be given a stable government, then this alliance is a must. If weaker sections are to be empowered, then a stable government is needed," Chautala told reporters after a party rally at Shahabad.
Addressing a rally in Jind last month, Birender Singh, a former Union minister, had also said that if the BJP thinks the JJP can fetch the alliance votes in next year's elections, then they are mistaken.
The Ajay Singh Chautala-led party had extended support to the BJP in 2019 after the saffron outfit fell short of a majority in the assembly polls. However, in recent weeks, both the JJP and BJP have said they are preparing to contest in all the 10 Lok Sabha and 90 Assembly seats and remained non-committal on continuing the ties.
Meanwhile, replying to a question, Dushyant Chautala took on Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on the SYL canal issue.
"Punjab does not want to give SYL water to us (Haryana) whereas Delhi asks for water (from Haryana)... Punjab cannot stop stubble burning and it is leading to smoke in the national capital.
"He has to decide where his stand lies. If we get water from Punjab we will give it to Delhi also. If smoke does not come from Punjab, it will reduce pollution in Delhi," he said.
Chautala said that his party is contesting the Rajasthan elections and has so far announced 14 candidates.
Dushyant Chautala along with his father and JJP chief Ajay Singh Chautala addressed the party's "Nav Sankalp Rally" at Shahbad in the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency.
Addressing the rally, Ajay Chautala stressed strengthening the organization and asked party workers to start preparations for next year's assembly polls in the state.
Every worker should go door-to-door and tell the public about the welfare works done by the JJP. The present government has announced to soon increase old age pension to Rs 3,000 from Rs 2,750 per month, Ajay Chautala said.
"It was the JJP's poll promise to increase old age pension to Rs 5,100 per month. We regret that we could not fulfill it but we will increase it to Rs 10,000 per month whenever we get an opportunity and for that, our organisation is working hard," he said.
At the rally, Dushyant Chautala said when JJP was formed nearly five years ago, no one had thought that this party would be able to grow so fast. He credited the party workers for the growth and said they are the strength of the organization.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
