Former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who has had a long association with the Chautala family, is reportedly trying to resolve the INLD feud even as Leader of the Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala and his elder brother Ajay Singh on Friday addressed party workers separately.
Badal talked to Ajay Singh over the phone on Thursday and Friday, inviting him and his son Dushyant to his village. Badal village in Muktsar is barely 15 km from Dabwali. Sources say the Akali patriarch stepped in when approached by some members of the Chautala family.
Dushyant claimed he was not aware of any such move, however sources say a meeting between Ajay Singh and Abhay Singh was fixed for Friday morning but it could not materialise. Significantly, at a meeting of MLAs and members of the state executive at Sirsa, Abhay Singh declared he was prepared to meet his elder brother whenever he was called. “I’ve always given him respect but am pained at him calling me Duryodhana and not taking action against those who used derogatory language,” Abhay said.
Six out of 18 MLAs, including Ajay Singh’s wife Naina Chautala, did not attend a meeting called by Abhay Singh on Friday. Pehowa MLA Jaswinder Singh Sandhu was represented by his son, claimed Rania MLA Ram Chander Kamboj. Of the rest, Nagendra Bhadana (Faridabad NIT) has already been cosying up to the BJP, Anoop Dhanak (Uklana) and Rajdeep Fogat (Charkhi Dadri) have always backed Dushyant and Pirthi Nambardar (Narwana) met Ajay Singh at ‘Ram-Rami.
Besides the 12 MLAs, MPs Charanjit Singh Rori and RK Kashyap attended Abhay Singh’s meeting where he announced a ‘Kisan Adhikar Rath Yatra’ on December 1 “that will end after the rout of BJP and the Congress”.
