Abhay to face breach of privilege charge after faceoff with Dushyant

The Haryana assembly on Tuesday referred a matter involving the alleged misstating of facts by lone INLD MLA Abhay Singh Chautala on the floor of the House to the Committee of Privileges. Abhay had a seemingly spiteful war of words with deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala. Deputy Speaker, Ranbir Singh Gangwa, who was presiding, put a question on a motion moved by Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) MLA from Barwala, Jogi Ram Sihag.

“While speaking during Zero Hour, Abhay Chautala, MLA brought up certain wrong and misleading facts regarding the land acquired for Hisar airport. The deputy CM subsequently with the permission of the speaker clarified the position there and then. Abhay Chautala was adamant and brought certain wrong facts misleading the House by using unparliamentary words too. The act of the member is unwarranted, unjust and undignified particularly when the deputy CM clarified the position immediately in the House. He thus misled the House by giving false and wrong facts knowingly and intentionally. He has lowered the prestige, status and dignity of the House. The act therefore clearly constitutes a breach of privilege. In view of the facts, the Speaker may give his consent to this question of privilege and send the specific matter to the Committee of Privileges for examination, investigation and report,’’ said the motion moved by the JJP MLA.

After the leave was granted by the House, the deputy speaker referred the matter to the Committee of Privileges for investigation.

Earlier, the Haryana Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday witnessed a seemingly spiteful war of words between Abhay and deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala over “land sharks” allegedly grabbing prime land in the vicinity of Hisar airport.

The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader Dushyant Chautala is a nephew of Abhay Chautala. The JJP, a breakaway faction of the INLD, had joined hands with the BJP in the wake of no party getting a simple majority in the October 2019 Haryana assembly elections. JJP has 10 MLAs, while the INLD has been reduced to one MLA in the 90-member House.

The INLD’s lone MLA from Ellenabad segment fired the first salvo during the Zero Hour in his characteristic tone and tenor against the deputy CM, which assembly speaker Gian Chand Gupta also described as derogatory to the dignity of not only Dushyant Chautala but also to the House.

The speaker said the way Abhay Chautala was referring to deputy CM was undignified.

However, INLD MLA did not relent and stepped up the offensive by accusing the deputy CM of patronising the land mafia in the garb of Hisar international airport.

Abhay Chautala said people are holding a sit-in protest in Hisar after a road constructed adjoining the airport was closed to the public. He said in the name of the international airport, a land mafia is active and that certain private companies have been buying land in the vicinity of the airport.

The INLD MLA linked the deputy CM with the “land mafia”, a charge which the latter stoutly denied and demanded that the breach of privilege proceedings should be initiated against the MLA for levelling wild allegations.

The speaker advised the MLAs not to mislead the House and that the members should stick to facts.

“File an affidavit (containing accusations against Dy CM)...I shall set up a House committee and hold an inquiry...” Gupta asked Abhay Chautala while the deputy CM demanded to launch privilege proceedings against his uncle for levelling imaginary and baseless allegations.

Later, in a written statement, the deputy CM said that 7,200 acres of land of the Hisar aviation hub was transferred from various departments of the state government and that it was not purchased from any landowner. He said the road has been closed for the construction of the boundary wall of the airport premises. He said the state government has acquired 110 acres of land from the landowners through the e-Bhoomi portal by paying ₹147 crore.

The deputy CM said the land on both sides of the road built along Hisar airport is not with any person or company but with the government department.