Chandigarh, Sep 27 (PTI) Indian National Lok Dal leader Abhay Chautala Wednesday said his father and party chief Om Prakash Chautala was the first leader to bring together opposition parties last year which paved the way for the formation of the INDIA bloc.

The junior Chautala said it was due to his father's efforts that opposition leaders gathered at the 'Samman Divas' event last year on the occasion of the birth anniversary of former deputy prime minister Devi Lal.

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"We had started it and laid the foundation of this, no one can deny it. Chaudhary Om Prakash Chautala had sown its seeds last year," said Abhay Chautala about the INDIA bloc. The INLD is not a part of the INDIA bloc.

He was replying to questions regarding some INDIA parties not turning up at this year's 'Samman Divas', the 110th birth anniversary of Devi Lal, rally at Kaithal last Monday.

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Abhay Chautala said that barring the Congress all those who were invited came or sent their representatives. "Ask Congress people why they did not come. We had invited them." Abhay Chautala had invited Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for the rally.

National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, TMC's Derek O'Brien, JD(U) leader K C Tyagi, Bhim Army's Chandrashekhar Azad, former Union minister Birender Singh, and Rashtriya Lok Dal's S Siddiqui were prominent among those who attended the event.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was expected to attend, did not turn up. The event was seen as a show of strength by the INLD which has remained out of power in Haryana since 2005.

"Earlier too (before the INDIA bloc was formed), we had said non-BJP, non-Congress third front should be formed at the national level. Because national parties don't want the regional outfits to come up. They want to finish them. If all regional parties join hands, then the change of power is inevitable. Who can stop," he said.

If regional parties join hands, there will be no need for the Congress or the BJP, he said.

Asked about Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda's statement that the INLD has lost its base, Chautala alleged, "Hooda is working as a BJP agent and he is doing so for the past nine years. He openly helps the BJP".

"Hooda has said the Congress is capable of fighting (Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls in Haryana) on its own. If that was the case, why did both father-son duo (Hooda and his son Deepender) lose the two Lok Sabha seats they contested (in 2019)," he asked.

The Congress party in the state is a "divided house" and Hooda should take care of this, he said.

Among other issues, Abhay Chautala said the INLD's Haryana unit has been reconstituted and Nafe Singh Rathee re-appointed as its chief. Other appointments have also been made after consultation with INLD president O P Chautala, he said.

Abhay Chautala, who was general secretary of state unit, will now be party's national general secretary.

In Uttar Pradesh, the INLD has appointed Chaudhary Samar Pal as the state unit chief.

Abhay Chautala also lashed out at the BJP-JJP government claiming pink bollworm pest has affected cotton crop in districts including Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar and Jind, but the government appears to be in a slumber.

He also said the farmers, who had suffered damage to crops due to heavy rains and floods in July, have not been compensated for the losses. "Even today, thousands of acres of farm land continues to be waterlogged in Fatehabad district, but the government has not helped the farmers," he claimed.

Abhay Chautala will take out a "Rath Yatra" in the state from October 15 which will continue till the dates of Assembly polls, which are scheduled a year later, are announced. "We will cover all 90 assembly constituencies," he said, adding each day he will be covering 15-20 villages.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)