Congress opposes Chautala's shifting to Bathinda jail

The Congress on Thursday expressed opposition to the Punjab government's move to allow shifting of former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, found guilty in the teachers recruitment scam and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, from Delhi's Tihar prison to Bathinda jail.

The issue was raised in the Punjab assembly by Congress legislator Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who questioned the move, saying that Chautala's transfer to Bathinda prison would do no good to Punjab.

He wondered what was the motive of the Parkash Singh Badal government to get Chautala shifted.

The Badal government had recently written to the Delhi government saying that it did not have any objection to Chautala, who is serving a 10 year prison term, to be shifted to Bathinda jail.

The close family relations between Punjab Chief Minister Badal and the Chautala family are quite well-known.

The Junior Basic Teachers (JBT) recruitment scam had led to the conviction of 55 people, including Chautala and his son Ajay Chautala, by a Central Bureau of Investigation court in Delhi in January last year.