New Delhi: Jannayak Janata Party leader Dushyant Chautala's father Ajay Chautala, who is lodged in the Tihar jail here after being convicted in a corruption case, has been granted furlough for two weeks, officials said on Saturday.
The development comes on a day the BJP staked claim to form the government in Haryana after JJP offered support to the saffron party, which fell short of a majority in the assembly elections. Dushyant, who met his father shortly before meeting his 10 legislators on Friday to take a decision on supporting the BJP, will take oath as the deputy chief minister of the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government on Sunday.
Ajay Chautala is scheduled to leave the Tihar jail on Sunday, officials said. According to Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel, Ajay Chautala has been granted a two-week furlough and it will start from the day he will step out of the jail premises. However, in a series of tweets, Nagender Sharma, the media advisor to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, said the Delhi government has no role in the decision and furlough for convicts in Tihar jail is decided by the Director General of the prison.
"Delhi govt stand on convict Ajay Chautala being granted furlough: It has been erroneously floating in some quarters that Delhi govt has taken this decision. It is strongly rebutted and made clear that furlough for convicts is decided by the Tihar DG," he said.
"In the instant case, Tihar DG did not consult the Delhi govt nor was the view of the govt sought. Furlough matters are handled at the DG level and govt/Home Minister have nothing to do with it. Files related to furlough applications are not sent to the minister for approval," he added. Sharma further said only parole applications are sent by Tihar authorities to the Delhi government for approval.
Ajay is in jail along with his father and former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala. In 2013, Ajay, his father and 53 others, including two IAS officers, were convicted for corruption in a teachers' recruitment scam and other charges.
