Congress piles up pressure on Dushyant Chautala to dump BJP in Haryana

Amid protests by farmers against the farm laws, Congress on Wednesday increased the pressure on Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala to quit the coalition government with BJP and support the agitation.

Chautala’s Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), which has a largely agrarian support base in Haryana, is a crucial ally of the BJP, propping up Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s government in the state.

The BJP has 40 MLAs in the 90-member Haryana assembly, while the JJP has 10 legislators. Two independent legislators supporting the Khattar-Chautala government have already quit the alliance and declared support to the protesting farmers.

“In Punjab, the Akali Dal left BJP's side due to the farmers’ protests. In Rajasthan, the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party is preparing to leave BJP. The question is when will Dushyant Chautala resign from the post of Deputy CM? When will JJP withdraw support from BJP in Haryana?” AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said.

The JJP is feeling the heat of the farmers' protests and almost all of its MLAs have supported the agitation.

JJP chief Ajay Chautala, the father of Dushyant, has said that the problems of the farmers should be addressed through a unanimous resolution and the Centre should consider the inclusion of MSP in the Act.

JJP leaders are also upset at the use of water cannons and tear gas shells against the farmers and the attempts by BJP to portray the agitation as one mostly led by farmers from Punjab.

“There are statements by the Union Agriculture Minister and the Prime Minister himself that the MSP regime would continue. What is the harm in including it in the Act?” the senior Chautala asked.

“Haryana's history will never forget the backstabbing of Dushyant Chautala. The farmers he wooed for votes, whose loans he promised to waive, are on the roads today facing police lathis and tear gas shells. But JJP continues to sit on the lap of the BJP just to remain in power,” Surjewala said, egging on the JJP to quit the government.