Indicating that all was not well within the Jannayak Janta Party, the alliance partner of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Haryana, the party’s national vice-president and Narnaund MLA Ram Kumar Gautam on Wednesday announced his resignation from the post, accusing Dushyant Chautala, the Deputy Chief Minister, of holding “eleven portfolios by himself and not thinking about the party MLAs”.
Holding a press meet, Mr. Gautam said that Mr. Chautala was holding eleven portfolios and enjoying the “feast” all by himself without thinking about his nine other MLAs. He added that Mr. Chautala was made Deputy Chief Minister because of his MLAs, but now they were left grumbling and running around to get their works done. He said that there was resentment among all the MLAs.
Mr. Gautam, who defeated Haryana Finance Minister Capt. Abhimanyu in the recently held Assembly elections, said the people and the region would have been benefited had he been made a Minister. He added that the Chautalas too would have made a bigger leap had he been elevated as a Minister, but “now the game was all over”. He also accused the Chautalas of not allowing anyone from their community to grow politically taller than them.
In an obvious reference to the post-poll alliance between the BJP and the JJP, Mr. Gautam said he was pained to know that a deal was struck at the Ambience Mall. “It would have been better, had they done it before the elections. Why trouble so many people. It pains me the most,” said Mr. Gautam, adding that not being a Minister did not matter much to him.
He maintained that he was still a member of the party. “The law is such that I need to quit as MLA if I quit the party. Since people have voted for me, I want to serve them. Things have not come to a pass where I need to quit the party. I am one of its founders,” said Mr. Gautam.
JJP spokesperson Deep Kamal Saharan said the party was yet to receive the formal resignation of Mr. Gautam. He denied the allegations of any agreement having been reached in the Ambience Mall saying that it was all hearsay and Mr. Chautala had never been to the shopping mall post the election result.
Besides, Mr. Chautala, JJP Uklana MLA Anoop Dhanak is an MoS in the Council of Ministers. The party has a quota for three Ministers in all and one more MLA could be inducted during the next expansion.
