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Cong MLA held on INLD leader’s complaint
Our Correspondent

Hisar, October 20
Former Union Deputy Minister and a sitting Congress MLA, Mr Jai Parkash, who was arrested today in connection with a criminal case registered against him late last night, was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days by a local court. The case was registered on the complaint of an Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader, Mr Surinder Lamba.

Mr Jai Parkash, who was once one of the closest political aides of the Chief Minister, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, was arrested by the police from his home town Jind. He was brought here around noon and was later produced in the court of Ms Ashu Sanjiv Tingen, Judicial Magistrate. The police asked the court for the custody of the accused for 10 days. The court turned down the police plea and remanded the Congress leader in judicial custody.

Mr Lamba, a director of HARCO Bank as well had alleged that Mr Jai Parkash had threatened and assaulted him. He said Mr Parkash had come to his office located in a shop at Barwala near here last evening along with a number of his armed supporters. He alleged that Mr Jai Parkash then pointed a gun at him and asked him to vacate the shop failing which he would be murdered.

He also alleged that Mr Jai Parkash and his associates stole a fan, a watch and cash amounting to Rs 3650 from him before leaving.

The police registered a case under Sections 148, 149, 395, 397, 120B and 506 of the IPC. Besides Mr Parkash, has gunman and 10 associates were also booked.

Talking to newspersons after the court hearing Mr Jai Parkash, popularly known as JP, alleged that a false case had been registered against him at the behest of Mr Chautala who, he alleged, was trying to pressurise him to make up with him. He said several cases had been registered against him after the Chautala government came to power but he had obtained stay orders on his arrest from the High Court.

He said he would never make up with Mr Chautala as he had parted company with him because of his differences with Mr Chautala on political functioning and criminalisation of politics.

The Congress legislator had once headed the ‘Green Brigade’ during the late Devi Lal’s campaign in former Prime Minister Mr V.P. Singh’s election in Uttar Pradesh after he had parted ways with Mr Rajiv Gandhi.

Hundreds of Mr Jai Parkash’s supporters accompanied him from Jind to the police station here and the court. They also exchanged hot words with the police when the police tried to prevent them from proceeding to the court.

Later in the evening, the Leader of the Opposition in the Haryana Assembly, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, came here to meet Mr Jai Parkash in the local Central Jail. However, the jail authorities refused to allow the meeting citing jail rules.

After he failed to convince them Mr Hooda held dharna in front of the main gate of the jail, along with hundreds of Congress workers. They raised slogans in support of Mr Jai Parkash and against the Chautala government.

Mr Hooda said the case against Mr Jai Parkash was false. He said while the Chautala government had failed to check the activities of criminals in the state, it was keeping the police busy by letting lose a reign of terror against his political opponents. The Opposition leader said using the police against his opponents had become a habit with the Chief Minister. The people, he said, had given him a befitting reply after the Meham mayhem and would do so now too.

He said there were no rules preventing the meeting with Mr Jai Parkash. However, the dharna was symbolic and the Congress would decide its next course of action shortly.

JIND: Condemning the arrest of Mr Jai Parkash, Mr Shamsher Singh Surjewala, former President of Haryana Pradesh Congress, said that Chautala government was implicating its political opponents in false cases to suppress their voice. He alleged that false cases had been registered against about 50 Opposition leaders by the INLD government. He demanded dismissal of Chautala government. He also demanded immediate release of Mr Jai Parkash. Mr Karambir Singh Saini, former State Secretary of HPCC, also condemned the arrest of Mr Jai Parkash.

Chandigarh: Condemning the arrest of Mr Jai Prakash Barwala, INLD former Haryana minister Nirmal Singh said the Chautala Government was deliberately implicating the emerging leadership of the state so that it could not pose any challenge to his sons. A former Additional Advocate-General of Haryana and prominent Congress leader, Kamal Sharma said the arrest was the result of political vendetta.