VIP Inmate
- Special efforts being made at Bathinda central jail to welcome former Haryana chief minister OP Chautala convicted in teacher recruitment scam
- Chautala’s proximity with the Badals comes to his aid which explains the choice of location to be that of Bathinda
- Bathinda jail comes under the supervision of deputy CM Sukhbir Badal while his wife Harsimrat is the MP from Bathinda
- While senior Chautala waits for eight years of incarceration, Bathinda might ease his suffering to some extent
Seventy-eight-year-old former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, serving a 10-year term for his involvement in teachers recruitment scam, can expect a grand reception at the Bathinda central jail where he is being shifted shortly.
The most spacious cell in the jail – cell number 2 in the B-Class segment – is being spruced up to host Chautala. It is being given a fresh coat of whitewash and is being fitted with a water cooler and new fans. The jail staff has been asked to arrange special utensils, fresh sheets and blankets and other necessary items for the VIP guest.
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Proximity with the Badals
The reason for this special effort is not far to seek. Chautala family has close ties with the ruling Badal family in Punjab. Chautala’s father, former Deputy Prime Minister and Haryana Chief Minister Devi Lal was a bosom friend of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
The two families have been maintaining close ties along with joint financial and personal interests. Devi Lal had also provided shelter to Badal during the Sikh morcha as well as when Punjab was hit by militancy.
The family ties are so strong that in the recent Haryana Assembly elections, despite the fact that the BJP is the coalition partner in the Badal government, the Shiromani Akali Dal contested the election in alliance with Chautala’s Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and against BJP candidates. Even the BJP appeared to have looked the other way as its coalition partner in Punjab opposed it in neighbouring Haryana.
The ‘Bathinda’ Factor
The appeal by Chautala’s wife to shift her husband from Tihar jail to Bathinda is also significant from the fact that the Badals hail from Bathinda. The jail comes under the charge of his son and deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal while Sukhbir’s wife, Union minister of state Harsimrat Kaur Badal is the MP from Bathinda.
Besides, Chautala’s village, Teja Khera in Dabwali Tehsil of Sirsa district, is located barely 60 kilometres from Bathinda.
Chautala’s plea for shifting could perhaps be the last wish Badal had declined. The request was moved through the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and it is learnt that Badal himself put in a word to him to clear the file.
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Official sources say that Kejriwal has given his assent and it is only a matter of days before Chautala moved to Bathinda. The Badal government is now taking no chances. It had despatched its Principal Secretary (Prisons) Sanjay Kumar to oversee the arrangements though he later denied that he had gone there for this purpose.
Hoping for the Best
Incidentally, Chautala was allowed bail prior to the Assembly elections in Haryana on the condition that he would not participate in the election campaign. However, he addressed a couple of rallies. Subsequently, the Supreme Court had cancelled his bail. He had also been admitted in a high profile hospital in Gurgaon for treatment.
Given the fact that the highest court had rejected his appeal against the sentence and that he is already 78-years-old, there is little likelihood of him coming out of the jail. He still has to undergo eight years of imprisonment. His shifting to Bathinda would be his closest chance for a better life.
(The writer is a Chandigarh-based senior journalist)
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