Congress MLAs cross-voted at behest of Hooda: Abhay

Rohtak: INLD chairperson Abhay Singh Chautala on Wednesday accused former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda of orchestrating the cross-voting that took place during the Rajya Sabha elections in Haryana assembly. Speaking in Jhajjar, Chautala alleged that several MLAs who secured their party tickets with Hooda's backing ended up voting in favour of the BJP, and that this was not an independent act of rebellion but a move carried out with Hooda's consent. He claimed that these legislators sought Hooda's approval before cross-voting and hinted that he would soon reveal more details about the alleged strategy.Chautala referred to an earlier Rajya Sabha election involving Deepender Singh Hooda, stating that at the time the Congress had around 30 MLAs while he was contesting alone. He alleged that Hooda ensured the BJP did not field a second candidate, thereby easing his son's path to victory. He also pointed out that Kumari Selja was denied a ticket during that period, which reportedly led to resentment among her supporters. According to Chautala, if the BJP had fielded a candidate then, the outcome could have been different, but Hooda ensured such a situation did not arise.Continuing his attack, Chautala claimed that Hooda's actions in the current election were driven by a desire to settle past political scores. He alleged that Hooda facilitated votes from his own party MLAs in favour of the BJP-backed candidate as an act of "revenge".He accused Hooda of being anti-Dalit, stating that he was not in favour of Congress-backed candidate Karamveer Boudh, who was fielded with the support of Rahul Gandhi. Chautala cited past incidents involving leaders such as Ashok Tanwar and Kumari Selja to support his allegations.