NEW DELHI: Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of Janata Dal parliamentary board Devi Lal removed Ajit Singh from the secretary ship of the party’s parliamentary board.
A brief circular sent by Devi Lal to board members and central office bearers said Yashwant Sinha was being appointed as secretary of the board with “immediate effect.”
When contacted, federal industries minister Ajit Singh, who is also the secretary general of the Janata Dal described the decision by Devi Lal as an attempt to divert attention of the people from the basic issue of Meham on which the party had already taken a stand.
There had been incidents of booth capturing, rigging and poll violence and killings on Feb 27 and 28 in Meham assembly constituency in northern Haryana state from where Devi Lal’s son and chief minister Om Prakash Chautala is contesting against rebel Janata Dal candidate Anand Singh Dangi.
Ajit Singh said he had received the general circular sent by Devi Lal effecting the change. He added according to the patty constitution, the secretary general of the party was the secretary of the parliamentary board.
“I am not going to change my stand on the Meham issue,” Ajit Singh said. He said that the five member subcommittee constituted by the political affairs committee of the party had recommended the removal of Om Prakash Chautala from the chief minister ship of Haryana. Even the supporting parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the left had demanded Chautala’s removal, he added.
Ajit Singh expressed surprise over the appointment of Yashwant Sinha as secretary of the parliamentary board as Sinha was not even a member of the board.
He said it was for the party president VP Singh to take a decision in this regard. “We will abide by the decision taken by him (Singh),”’ he said.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 30, 1990
