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Om Prakash Chautala
Former Chief Minister of Haryana (1935–2024) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Om Prakash Chautala (1 January 1935 – 20 December 2024) was an Indian politician who served as the Chief Minister of Haryana from 1999 to 2005.[3] A member of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), he became the chief minister of Haryana for five terms. He served as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Haryana Legislative Assembly from 2005 to 2014. He holds the record for being the oldest prisoner of the Tihar Jail, at the age of 89. He was son of Devi Lal, former deputy prime minister of India.[2][4]
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Early life and personal life
Om Prakash Chautala, who belonged to the Sihag clan of Jat community,[2] was born on 1 January 1935[5] to Devi Lal,[6][7] the former Deputy Prime Minister of India.[8][9]
He was married to Sneh Lata, who died in August 2019.[10] Chautala had two sons and three daughters, including Abhay Singh Chautala and Ajay Singh Chautala.[11] Abhay is a Member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly from the Ellenabad constituency[12] and has also been the Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Legislative Assembly from October 2014 till March 2019.[13] Chautala's grandson, Dushyant Chautala, has served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana.[13] He is also a former Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from the Hisar constituency.[14]
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Political career
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Chautala served as the Chief Minister of Haryana from 2 December 1989 to 22 May 1990, from 12 July 1990 to 17 July 1990, again from 22 March 1991 to 6 April 1991 and, finally, from 24 July 1999 to 5 March 2005.[1]Om Prakash became the Chief Minister for the first time in 1989, but since he was not a member of the Legislative Assembly, he contested the by-elections three times. When the first election was postponed due to booth-hopping, the second election was cancelled when the independent candidate died. Finally, he won the third by-election held in his native Darba-Kalyan constituency in 1990.
He became the Chief Minister for the first time on 2 December 1989, but was forced to resign on 22 May 1990 after being accused of the death of an independent candidate. Banarasi Das became the Chief Minister in his place.
He was re-elected as the Chief Minister on 12 July 1990, but resigned on 16 July due to pressure from the party. Hukam Singh replaced Om Prakash as the Chief Minister.
Eight months later, on 22 March 1991, Om Prakash again became the Chief Minister, but on 6 April of the same year, he resigned as the Chief Minister after the imposition of President's Rule in Haryana due to political instability.
Eight years later, in 1999, he overthrew the Bansilal government, who was the Chief Minister, and took power again on 24 July 1999 with the support of the BJP. The following year, in the 2000 assembly elections, when the INLD won a majority, the Om Prakash Chautala government again took power on 2 March 2000. Om Prakash, who completed his five-year term until 2005, was the Chief Minister until the INLD was defeated in the 2005 assembly elections. Politically, he had been part of NDA and Third Front (non-NDA & non-UPA front) at national level.[15]
Chautala was released from the Tihar Jail on 2 July 2021 after serving nine and a half years of a 10-year prison sentence.[16] His early release was due to a decision of the Delhi government to reduce prison populations to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]
Chautala completed his matriculation and intermediate education in 2021 at the age of 87.[18]
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Controversies
Recruitment scam
In June 2008 OP Chautala and 53 others were charged in connection with the appointment of 3,206 junior basic teachers in the state of Haryana during 1999–2000. In January 2013 a New Delhi court sentenced Chautala and his son Ajay Singh Chautala to ten years' imprisonment under various provisions of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act.[19] Chautala was found guilty of illegally recruiting over 3,000 unqualified teachers.[20] A CBI investigation was ordered by the Supreme Court based on a writ filed by the former director of primary education Sanjeev Kumar, a 1989 batch IAS officer.[21][22][23]
His sentence was upheld by the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court.[24]
Disproportionate assets case
Chautala was given a four-year jail term on 27 May 2022 in a 16-year-old disproportionate assets case by the Delhi CBI Court,[25] making him, aged 87 at the time, the oldest prisoner of the Tihar Jail.[26] Along with the jail time, the court also imposed a fine of ₹50 lakh.[27]
Death
Chautala died from cardiac arrest at his Gurgaon residence, on 20 December 2024, at the age of 89.[28] His last rites were performed on 21 December in Teja Khera village.[29]
See also
References
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