Former Haryana minister Sampt Singh joins INLD three days after quitting Cong

Chandigarh, Nov 5 (PTI) Former Haryana minister Sampat Singh returned to the INLD fold on Wednesday, three days after quitting the Congress he had joined 16 years ago.

The senior leader claimed that he wasted years after joining Congress from the INLD. INLD chief Abhay Singh Chautala and the party's state unit president Rampal Majra welcomed Singh back into the party fold. Majra said those who worked with Chaudhary Devi Lal and fought alongside him, "are once again present among us today, and we welcome him." Singh expressed his gratitude to Chautala and Majra, saying he has got back the platform that former deputy prime minister late Chaudhary Devi Lal and ex-Haryana chief minister late Om Prakash Chautala gave him.

In his resignation letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Singh had alleged that the party in Haryana has been "reduced to a personal fiefdom where loyalty is rewarded with servitude and dissent with exile".

No accountability has been fixed for the party's continuous decline between 2009 and 2024, he had claimed.

On Wednesday, Singh said while INLD currently has only two MLAs in the 90-member Haryana Assembly, he is determined to make it the strongest alternative to the BJP.

If INLD forms government after the next state elections, it will formulate policies for the development of all sections of society, with special emphasis on education and healthcare, he said.

Chautala said, "He has taken this decision to carry forward the policies of Chaudhary Devi Lal. We express our gratitude to him." He also announced making Sampat Singh INLD patron.

Abhay Chautala alleged that JJP president and his elder brother Ajay Singh Chautala had "forced" Sampat Singh and Rampal Majra to leave the INLD.

Majra, who had switched over to the BJP, later rejoined the INLD.

Asked about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's charge that the 2024 Haryana assembly polls were "stolen", Abhay Chautala said, "Who taught 'vote chori'? Earlier, the Congress used to do this. Now the BJP is carrying it forward." "Why didn't Rahul Gandhi cite these examples when the Congress came to power in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana? Vote theft could have occurred there too," he said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that the 2024 Haryana assembly polls were "stolen", as he cited electoral roll data to claim that 25 lakh entries were fake and the Election Commission colluded with the BJP to ensure its victory in the state. PTI CHS NSD NSD NSD