Chandigarh, March 30
In a major political development in Haryana, the Cooperation Minister, Mr Kartar Singh Bhadana, resigned from the Chautala Cabinet this evening.
He faxed his resignation to the Governor, Babu Parmanand, around 5-15 p.m., with copies to the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, and the Chief Secretary, Mr A.N. Mathur. Before accepting the resignation, the Governor would have to wait for the recommendation of the Chief Minister. The single sentence resignation does not say why Mr Bhadana took this step.
When contacted, Mr Bhadana confirmed his resignation. However, so far he has not resigned as MLA nor from the ruling Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).
Mr Bhadana told TNS that he wanted to contest the Lok Sabha election. He refused to elaborate from which party he would contest the election. But sources close to him said it would not be the INLD.
It is believed that Mr Bhadana, whose
younger brother, Avtar, was the Congress MP from Meerut in the dissolved Lok Sabha, is in touch with the BJP for the ticket from the Dausa Lok Sabha constituency in Rajasthan. Dausa is the traditional constituency of the late Mr Rajesh Pilot of the Congress. After Mr Pilot’s death, the seat was held by his wife, Rama. This year the Congress has nominated Mr Pilot’s son, Sachin, from this seat. Mr Pilot and Mr Bhadana belong to the Gujjar community.
In 1999, Mr Bhadana was elected President of the Haryana Vikas Party (Democratic) formed by those MLAs who withdrew support to the Bansi Lal Government. He was authorised by his colleagues to negotiate with the other parties, including the HVP, for the formation of the government. Mr Chautala became the Chief Minister after he and Mr Bhadana negotiated a deal late in the night in a Sector 35 hotel in the presence of the former Advocate-General of Haryana, Mr Mohan Jain.
The sources say a former IAS officer, Mr J.P.S. Sangwan, who had played an important role in the fall of the Bansi Lal Government, was instrumental in persuading Mr Bhadana to quit the Chautala Government also.
