Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) president and former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala passed away in Gurugram on Friday at the age of 89. Chautala, a five-time chief minister of Haryana and the son of former deputy prime minister Devi Lal, suffered a cardiac arrest at his home in Gurugram.
Early life
Chautala was born on 1 January 1935 into a family deeply rooted in Indian politics. His father, Chaudhary Devi Lal, was India’s former Deputy Prime Minister and a staunch advocate for farmers’ rights. This political legacy gave Chautala a solid foundation, eventually leading him to succeed his father as a key figure in Haryana’s regional politics.
Political career
Om Prakash Chautala became Chief Minister on December 2, 1989. However, his tenure was short-lived, ending on May 22, 1990, when his government was dismissed. Following political changes, Chautala was re-elected Chief Minister on July 12, 1990, but his second term lasted only until July 17, 1990.
Chautala again assumed the Chief Minister’s office again in 1991, serving from March 22 to April 6, 1991. Chautala’s longest term was from July 24, 1999, to March 5, 2005.
During this period, he focused on improving agricultural and rural infrastructure in Haryana, though allegations of corruption and mismanagement also marred his time in office.
‘Power corrupts’
The Chautalas were found guilty of illegally recruiting over 3,000 unqualified teachers using forged documents. The Supreme Court ordered a CBI investigation based on a writ filed by Sanjeev Kumar, the former director of primary education and a 1989 batch IAS officer.
In June 2008, OP Chautala and 53 others were charged with illegally appointing 3,206 junior basic teachers in Haryana during 1999-2000. In January 2013, a New Delhi court sentenced Chautala and his son, Ajay Singh Chautala, to ten years in prison under various provisions of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Chautala was released from Tihar Jail on 2 July 2021 after serving nine and a half years of his 10-year sentence. According to reports, the Delhi government decided to reduce prison populations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in his early release.
Power corrupts, and for Om Prakash Chautala, it led to a decade-long prison sentence.
Chautala was also given a four-year jail term in a 16-year-old disproportionate assets case on 27 May 2022 by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Court and became the oldest prisoner of Delhi’s Tihar jail, aged 87. He was released in 2020.
(With inputs from agencies)
