File photo of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has lashed out at former chief minister and Indian National Lok Dal leader Om Prakash Chautala for his remarks that he would take oath as the next chief minister in Tihar Jail.
"How can this man dream of becoming the chief minister when he is not even eligible under law to contest the election for a legislator? He is only trying to fool people," Mr Hooda said at an election rally in Karnal on Sunday.
Mr Chautala, 79, surrendered at Tihar Jail on Saturday, after the Delhi High Court cancelled his bail and ordered him to discontinue his political rallies.
He was convicted in January last year for running a graft-laden scheme to recruit teachers for government institutions when he was in office in 1999. Mr Chautala, the chief of the Indian National Lok Dal or INLD, was sentenced to 10 years in jail.
"If he wants to fulfill his wish to be the chief minister again, I suggest that he should hold an election among prisoners in the (Tihar) jail. He can also form his cabinet in jail and run his government," Mr Hooda said today.
"There is something called rule of law. He (Chautala) has been convicted in the (teachers') recruitment scam and that is why he is in jail. The law prohibits him from contesting any election. He cannot even become a legislator, let alone becoming chief minister," Hooda pointed out.
The Haryana government, headed by Mr Chautala in 1999-2000, recruited over 3,200 teachers. However, the final selection lists were tampered with and new names were added to the lists.
The INLD leadership, in its political rallies on Sunday, tried to project an image that Mr Chautala was jailed as he had given jobs to youth.
But Mr Hooda attacked their claims.
"These are all lies by Chautala. If he has got 10 years' imprisonment for giving 3,200 jobs, then I should be hanged for giving over 50,000 jobs. Chautala was convicted and jailed because of irregularities and bribery in recruitment," Mr Hooda said.
Mr Chautala was forced to surrender on Saturday after the Delhi High Court, which had cancelled his bail last month, advanced the surrender date from October 17.
The former chief minister availed bail on "health grounds" but started openly campaigning for INLD candidates for Wednesday's (October 15) elections to the Haryana assembly. The high court, on a plea of the CBI, held that Mr Chautala clearly violated bail conditions by addressing political rallies.
The INLD, which was lagging behind the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in its campaign, got a boost with Mr Chautala addressing several rallies in the past fortnight. The turnout at the Mr Chautala rallies made the ruling Congress and the BJP wary.