In yet another round of confrontation between chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung, the AAP government on Wednesday accused the L-G of “pressurising” home minister Satyendar Jain to grant parole to INLD leader Om Prakash Chautala, who is serving a decade-long jail term in teachers’ recruitment scam case.
Refuting the accusations by the Kejriwal government, the L-G Secretariat said that Mr Jung had rejected parole prayer of Mr Chautala on October 5, as there should be a gap of minimum six months from the date of termination of last parole.
The LG office said no further application for parole from the former Haryana chief minister has been received at the L-G’s Secretariat. A senior government official alleged that Mr Jung recently had summoned Mr Jain and all-egedly “pressurised” him to expedite Mr Chautala’s parole plea or grant him permission to be shifted to a Punjab jail.
The chief minister has sent a two-page file on Mr Chautala, expressing displeasure over the L-G’s alleged pressure on his minister and said he strongly opposed parole to the former Haryana chief minister. “The CM has sought a list of other convicts from the home department who were similarly placed, given parole earlier,” an official said.
In his file noting to Mr Jung, Mr Kejriwal asked the lieutenant-governor when the judge did not show any leniency on age, why was he showing “The L-G says the convict has been national president of a political party for five years. Everyone is equal before the law,” Mr Kejriwal said. Refuting the government’s allegations, the L-G Secretariat on Wednesday issued a statement stating that the L-G had rejected parole plea of Mr Chautala on October 5, as there should be a gap of minimum six months from the date of termination of last parol.
