Chandigarh, Nov 14 (IANS) INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala on Wednesday expelled his elder son Ajay Singh Chautala, accusing him of "anti-party activities." Ajay was also removed as the secretary general of the party.
The expulsion decision was announced by the Indian National Lok Dal state unit chief Ashok Arora on Wednesday in the presence of senior party leaders and Ajay Chautala's younger brother, Abhay Singh Chautala.
Arora read out a letter from Om Prakash Chautala, who is in Tihar Jail in the national capital.
"The national President of INLD accused Ajay Singh Chautala of activities that vitiated the party discipline and weakened the cohesiveness, unity and integrity of the party. He continues to adhere to the principle that no individual or a member of his family is above party's disciplne," an INLD statement said.
Chautala, a former Chief Minister of Haryana, also accused Ajay Singh of "trying to run a parallel party organization by going beyond his powers and calling an unauthorized meeting of the party at Jind on November 17."
"He reminded him of Section 5 of Article IX of the party constitution wherein no general or special meeting can be called without the prior written permission of the national President. "Any violation of this will invite disciplinary action by the national President," Arora said.
Arora also pointed out that the meeting called by Ajay Singh Chautala on November 17 at Jind was "unconstitutional and illegal".
Arora said a meeting of the INLD leadership has been called on November 17.
Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala and his younger brother, Digvijay Chautala, who are the sons of Ajay Chautala, were expelled from the primary membership on November 2 by their grandfather, bringing the bitterness within the Chautala clan out in the open.
Ajay Chautala, who is out of Tihar on parole, is touring various parts of Haryana to mobilise support for the party meeting and a rally he has called in Jind on November 17.
Reacting to the expulsion of Ajay Chautala, his son Digvijay said the whole exercise was a "conspiracy" and the expulsion letter from Chautala senior was "forged".
Earlier, refusing to accept his expulsion, Dushyant had pointed out that neither has his expulsion order been issued officially by the INLD nor has the party's national executive met to decide the issue.
Dushyant, who was also removed from the post of leader of the INLD Parliamentary Board, claimed that he had learnt about his 'expulsion' only through the media.
The INLD, which is Haryana's main opposition party, could be heading for a split with the fight within the Chautala family spilling out into the open over the past few days.
Dushyant and Digvijay Chautala are the great-grandsons of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal.
The action follows activities of both youth leaders and their supporters when they tried to project Dushyant as the chief ministerial face in Haryana next year.
O.P. Chautala and his elder son, Ajay, were convicted in the JBT (junior basic teacher) recruitment scam in January 2013. Both were sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Central Bureau of Investigation court in Delhi.
THe Father and son have been barred from contesting elections due to the conviction.
The INLD has been managed by Chautala's younger son Abhay Singh Chautala, who has been the leader of opposition in the Haryana Assembly, since then.
Abhay Singh told media here on Wednesday: "I have never nourished political ambitions but have also never shirked from any duty assigned to me by Chaudhary Om Prakash Chautala. I have worked at the grassroots level and contested and won elections against heavy odds when asked to do so."
--IANS
js/prs
(This story was auto-published from a syndicated feed. No part of the story has been edited by The Quint.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)