Chautala-Badal links harmed Haryana's interests: Chatha

Chandigarh, Sep 29 (UNI) Haryana Agriculture Minister H S Chatha today alleged that INLD leader Om Prakash Chautala's close links with the ''opponents of Haryana'' like Akali leader Parkash Singh Badal had always harmed the interests of he state.

In a statement issued here today, Mr Chatha said Mr Chautala and his father Devi Lal had always tried to please former Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal by first opposing the implementation of Rajiv-Longowal accord and then creating hindrances in the construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal.

He pointed out that Mr Badal addressed the public meeting along with Mr Chautala, which was organised by the INLD in Meham on September 25.

Mr Badal, he said, tried to mislead the people by saying that the Congress had announced a meagre hike of Rs 10 per quintal in the MSP. This was totaly wrong as Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had made efforts to get the MSP for wheat and paddy enhanced and recently a hike of Rs 40 per quintal had been announced for paddy by the Central Government.

Secondly, he said Mr Badal tried to mislead the people of Haryana by saying that the Congress Government in Haryana was trying to harass Mr Chautala in the same way as he himself was harassed by the Congress Government in Punjab.

Mr Chatha said that the CBI, which was a Central agency and functioned independently, had registered an FIR against Mr Chautala for amassing disproportionate property amounting to Rs 1464 crore.

He said that both Mr Chautala and Mr Badal had kept their friendship ''higher than the interests of the people of Haryana and always grinded their own axe to gain political mileage.'' Accusing Mr Chautala of delaying the construction of SYL canal in Punjab just to please the then Akali Dal government headed by Mr Badal, he wondered how the INLD leader could now put the blame on the Hooda government which had been vigorously pursuing the SYL case.

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