Unveiling the statue, Dushyant Chautala had said Devi Lal was an institution in himself. (File)
Two days after Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala unveiled an 18-feet tall statue of Devi Lal at the Chaudhary Devi Lal University, his cousin brother Karan Chautala on Wednesday washed it with holy Ganga water for "purification", saying those who had unveiled it had "misused" the former deputy prime minister's name.
Karan Chautala, son of Indian National Lok Dal senior leader Abhay Singh Chautala, along with INLD workers and supporters reached the venue where the statue had been unveiled.
A tall ladder was arranged and Karan Chautala along with others accompanying him washed the statue of former Deputy Prime Minister, late Devi Lal, great grandfather of Karan Chautala.
While Karan Chautala is a son of Abhay Chautala, Dushyant is a son of Abhay's brother Ajay Singh Chautala, who heads the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP). Dushyant Chautala floated the JJP in 2018 when the INLD split following a feud within the Chautala family.
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) is headed by former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, late Devi Lal's son and father of Abhay Chautala and Ajay Chautala.
Talking to reporters at the site, Karan Chautala said the statue was washed with holy Ganga water for "purification" as it had been unveiled by those who have allegedly misused and tried to spoil Devi Lal's name.
Without naming Dushyant Chautala, he said those who had unveiled the statue two days ago had allegedly misused Devi Lal's name.
He said while Devi Lal was a "messiah of farmers", the deputy chief minister "had not stood with the farmers" who had been protesting for months against the farm laws.
"..We had come here to clean the statue and wash it with Ganga Jal to purify it... One thing I cannot understand is that when Chaudhary Devi Lal's statue was earlier already installed in the university here, what was the reason to take that to Jind and install a new one. Why are they doing this drama," he said.
On the farmers' issue, Dushyant Chautala had recently said the ongoing farmer agitation is not anymore about the demands of the peasantry, but how to oppose the government and the ruling BJP-JJP alliance in Haryana.
Unveiling the statue on Tuesday, Dushyant Chautala had said Devi Lal was an institution in himself, whose entire political life was devoted to the welfare of people, particularly the farming community.