Rajnath visits Teja Khera in Sirsa, pays tributes to former Haryana CM OP Chautala

Defence minister Rajnath Singh visited Teja Khera in Sirsa on Monday and paid tributes to former Haryana chief minister and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) patriarch Om Prakash Chautala, who passed away due to cardiac arrest last week.

The union minister reached Chautala’s farmhouse in Teja Khera village and met the departed leader’s sons—Abhay Singh Chautala, who is a former Leader of the opposition in the Haryana assembly, and his elder brother Ajay Singh Chautala, who heads the Jannayak Janata party (JJP). Singh also interacted with Chautala’s younger brother and former Haryana minister Ranjit Singh Chautala and offered condolences to the Chautala family.

Ex-chief minister Chautala was former deputy prime minister Devi Lal’s eldest of the four sons. Chautala, who was a five-time chief minister, died in Gurugram on Friday. He was 89.

Interacting with reporters, the union minister recalled his decades-old association with Chautala and termed the departed leader as flag-bearer of the anti-Congress front throughout his life.

“ Chautala sahab’s services for the farming community can’t be forgettable. He was the son of great peasantry leader Devi Lal but in the political landscape, he made his own identity and popularity among the masses across the country. He walked on the path shown by Sir Chhotu Ram, Chaudhary Charan Singh and Chaudhary Devi Lal,” he added.

Chautala’s “rasam pagri” ceremony and a tribute meeting will be held at Chautala village in Sirsa on December 31.

On Monday, Chautala’s grandsons – Arjun Chautala, who is MLA from Rania, and his elder brother Karan Chautala performed ash immersion rituals in Haridwar. Arjun said two books, including one autobiography and a travelogue titled “Meri Videsh Yatra”, by the former CM are ready for publication.

“My grandfather had a habit of writing his daily experiences in Urdu, which are translated into Hindi for his two books,” he said.