M A I N   N E W S

Peeved over Iftar venue, Panipat legislator puts in papers
Naveen S Garewal/TNS

Balbir Pal Shah signs his resignation letter.

Chandigarh, August 4
Uncertainty about the extent of acceptability and public sentiment on the BJP and Narendra Modi’s Hindutva card has cast its spell on the state level Roza Iftar party held at Panipat today.

Local Panipat City MLA and former transport minister Balbir Pal Shah abstained from the party which was attended, among others, by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Shah had been demanding that the venue of the state function be shifted to the Muslim belt of Mewat.

Reports said that instead of attending the Iftar, Shah rushed to Karnal and submitted his resignation to Haryana Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kuldip Sharma. Talking to The Tribune, Shah confirmed he had resigned. The Speaker is believed to have given him two days to rethink the decision.

Shah’s absence is being viewed in political circles as a “pressure tactic” that will attract CM’s attention which will perhaps be followed by some grants to the area. Shah has been insisting that the holding of Iftar in Panipat, which has about 6000 Muslim residents, may affect the party’s prospects in this constituency in the General Election scheduled for next year. Interestingly, Shah had earlier invited Hooda to his house for evening tea, but the CM declined it on the plea that he will not go anywhere till the ‘rosa’ (fast) is broken at the state-level function.

An infuriated Shah then extended a breakfast invitation to Hooda’s bête noir and former finance minister Birender Singh.

It is learnt that the decision to submit his resignation was taken after consulting Birender Singh.

Political circles were abuzz about Shah’s unhappiness at holding the Iftar function in his constituency and not getting enough development grants for his area. Last year the Iftar was held in Nuh in Mewat and the state wanted to shift the event to some other area. When the venue was not changed, he decided to abstain.

Besides Hooda, the party was attended by former transport minister and Panipat (Urban) MLA OP Jain, Samalkha MLA Dharam Singh Chokkar, Nuh (Mewat) legislator Ch Aftab Ahmed, chief parliamentary secretary Jaleb Khan and Karnal MP Arvind Sharma.

Shah had earlier decided against going to receive the CM or visit the PWD Rest House to meet him making his unhappiness clear. Shah, who is a former state Congress president, has been extremely vocal in accusing the chief minister of lopsided development.

He has also demanded the removal of Haryana Congress president Phool Chand Mullana.