INLD MP demands apology from Haryana government, warns of defamation suit

Indian National Lok Dal leader Dushyant Chautala on Friday demanded an apology from the Haryana government within a week and warned of a defamation suit over mention of his name in an inquiry committee report on the February violence in the state.

Chautala, a Lok Sabha member from Hisar, also sent a letter to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, seeking to move a breach of privilege motion against six authorities -- including the Haryana home minister, home secretary, and Prakash Singh, former Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police who headed the inquiry panel.

The committee, set up by the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Haryana to probe the role of officers during the violence, submitted its report to the state government last week.

"The Haryana government has committed a breach of privilege in the recently released inquiry report. After going through the report, I was shocked to know about the malicious, false and fabricated contents being imputed in its Chapter IV 'Adding fuel to fire'," the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader said.

Chautala said that paragraph number 4.3 on page 20 of the report also refers to the statements of various political leaders.

"In this, the committee has mentioned my name and claimed that a speech was made during a gathering of the Jat community in 2015-16. What is pertinent to mention (here) is that the event they have mentioned in the report against my name was held on December 27, 2015, whereas I was out of India from December 22 to December 29, 2015," the parliamentarian said.

He attached a copy of his passport's page with details of his foreign journey during that period to buttress his claim.

"It is beyond any doubt now that the committee has been incompetent in finding the true facts and inserted my name deliberately. It is important to note that the committee neither enquired, nor did it verify or corroborate the published statement," the INLD leader said in his letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker.

He alleged this was done deliberately "with an intention to damage my public image and dignity as a member of parliament".

"I seek to move a breach of privilege motion against the Haryana Home Minister, Haryana Home Secretary under whose direction the report has been made public on the official website of the Chief Secretary along with all the members of the committee," Dushyant said in his letter.

--IANS

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