TNS

Chandigarh, August 13
As allegations and counter-allegations fly thick and fast over the Robert Vadra-DLF deal, the Haryana Congress appears in a state of flux. As if a volley of questions from the Opposition was not enough, party dissidents, active and dormant, have begun to close in on Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda as the government wages a battle to “come clean”.

Sources said as the opposition parties fan the “controversy” at the Centre and in the state, the dissident camp within the state Congress has got a new lease of life.

With the Chief Minister cancelling today’s visit to the city where he was slated to attend a felicitation function for litterateurs and take part in meetings points to his troubles increasing, sources say . However, he chose to stay in Delhi and keep a close eye on the developments. His aides, however, maintain that “something urgent” came up, necessitating cancellation of prior commitments.

Sources said amidst all the hullabaloo around the deals, Congress “dissident” and Gurgaon MP Rao Indrajeet’s has stirred a hornet’s nest, claiming that there are many other land deals that deserve to be looked into. Coming from a Congress MP, it is obviously created quite a stir, both inside and outside the party circles.

The MP, an Ahir and Hooda’s bete noire, after repeatedly alleging “discrimination” in development in south Haryana and feeling alienated within the party, had constituted a Haryana Insaaf Manch to fight for the rights of the Ahirwal belt. Gradually, he was written off by the state leadership as well. Sources said the “outburst” against the Haryana government on land deals had virtually “resurrected” the Rao in a party where he stopped counting. His allegations assume greater importance because they come from a Congress MP while the entire party is busy clearing the controversy over the Vadra-DLF deal.

Party leaders claimed that while Rao Indrajeet was batting for a thorough probe into all land deals over the past few years, Union minister Kumari Selja’s silence is also a reason to worry for the Chief Minister, especially since she is the only minister from the state at the Centre.

Meanwhile, Rajya sabha MP Birender Singh’s August 20 rally is giving anxious moments over whether or not Congress president Sonia Gandhi will address his Jind rally. Though the MP has claimed that she will address the rally, the situation is unclear.

Sources said some “dormant” and other disillusioned Congress leaders had also made a beeline for Delhi and were hobnobbing with the Congress top brass not only to “educate” them on the developments in the state but also lobby for themselves. While the storm on Vadra-DLF deal rages on, which way the wind blows once “things settle down” will decide the course of Haryana politics in the times to come, sources claim.

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