Haryana: INLD's Abhay Chautala resigns as MLA over farm laws

Indian National Lok Dal leader Abhay Singh Chautala, who was his party's lone representative in the 90-member Haryana assembly, Wednesday resigned as an MLA over the three new Central farm laws.

"I decided I cannot sit in the Assembly with those who bring resolutions favouring these laws," Chautala said, referring to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government's earlier move of bringing in a resolution backing the Centre's three contentious farm laws.

Chautala, who is the younger son of INLD president and former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, drove to the state assembly complex with his supporters in his green tractor to submit his resignation.

"Abhay Chautala, who represents the Ellenabad constituency, came to me personally and tendered his resignation and I have accepted it with immediate effect," Speaker Gian Chand Gupta said, adding his resignation letter was correct in all technical aspects.

Chautala has said in his resignation letter that he was resigning as farmers' demands have not been met by the government, the Speaker told reporters in Chandigarh.

In his resignation, Chautala has referred to two letters he had sent to the Speaker earlier this month, telling him that if the Centre failed to accept farmers' demand to repeal the new farm laws then his letters be treated as his resignation from the state assembly, Gupta said.

The Speaker had not accepted Chautala's previous letters as his resignation on the grounds that 'conditional letters' cannot be considered as such.

In the letter to Gupta, Chautala, the 57-year-old general secretary of the INLD, had slammed the Centre for imposing the 'black laws' on farmers in an 'undemocratic way' and said the farming community in the entire country is opposing these legislations.

After Chautala's resignation, the 90-member Haryana Assembly now has 40 MLAs of the BJP, 10 of ally Jannayak Janata Party, 31 members of the main opposition Congress and one MLA of Haryana Lokhit Party.

Seven members are Independents, out of whom five including Power Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala support the ruling combine.

Chautala's move to resign is likely to come as a boost for workers of the party, which has been out of power for over 15 years in Haryana and has suffered a series of electoral setbacks in recent times.

Later talking to reporters, Chautala said his party believes in furthering the policies of former deputy prime minister Devi Lal, who was considered a messiah of the farmers.

He said not only farmers from Punjab and Haryana were protesting these farm laws, but peasants from across country were against these legislations.

"I want to tell the country's Prime Minister that the Centre made a wrong decision and because of that so many farmers are protesting against these laws on the roads in winter months.

"If the Centre is ready to put these laws on hold for 18 months to even two years, that means there are some flaws. So, the Centre should repeal these laws and fulfil the promises they made on farm loan waiver and implementation of Swaminathan Commission report," Chautala said.

He had also dared former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other Congress MLAs to follow suit and resign.

He said he will tour entire state soon and apprise the people about these 'anti-farmer' laws.

Taking a veiled dig at JJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, who is also his nephew, the INLD leader said he will especially visit those constituencies where 'some people' had claimed they will stand by farmers and resign in their favour if such a need arose.

Dushyant's mother Naina Chautala is also a JJP legislator in Haryana.

Abhay Chautala said that those who claim to follow Chaudhary Devi Lal's ideology should have been standing with farmers at this juncture.

"Now, such people should come forward and resign. If they want farmers to get justice, then such people, especially those who have photographs of Devi Lal in their rooms and claim to follow his ideology, should resign," he said.

Meanwhile, he also blamed the BJP for the unruly events that unfolded in Delhi on Tuesday during farmers' tractor rally.

"Some anti-social elements from Uttar Pradesh spread rumours after which some young farmers headed towards the Red Fort..," he said.