Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) leader Naina Chautala, the mother of former Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, has referred to BJP leader Anoop Dhanak, a former member of the JJP, as a “black snake”. The remark was made during the inauguration of JJP candidate Krishna Gangwa’s campaign office in Adampur, days before the Haryana assembly elections, according to an NDTV report.
"We gave love and respect to Anoop but even a two-faced snake is better than him," Chautala said, as quoted by NDTV. "At least a snake knows which way it will bite. God gave Anoop the face of a black snake."
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Dhanak, elected as a JJP candidate in the 2019 elections, had served as a Minister of State in the JJP-BJP coalition government and is a one-time Chautala-family loyalist. However, he recently switched to the BJP, and has been fielded as the party's candidate from the Uklana constituency in the upcoming assembly election. His defection, along with that of fellow former JJP leaders Ram Kumar Gautam and Jogi Ram Sihag, was seen as a political gain for the BJP.
Responding to Chautala's comments, Dhanak was quoted as saying by Amar Ujala, "I have served their family for 20-25 years and have given Naina Chautala respect as a mother. I just want to say my poverty should not have been ridiculed. I did not break the party but resigned after 5 years. My complexion is the same today as it was 20 years ago."
'JJP Made Efforts To Uplift Backward And Scheduled Caste Leaders'
Naina Chautala expressed frustration with former JJP members joining hands with the BJP, NDTV reported. She said the JJP had made an effort to uplift backward and Scheduled Caste (SC) leaders like Dhanak, "offering them respect and leadership opportunities". "We spared no effort to give respect to SC and backward classes. We also made Anoop Dhanak a state minister," she said.
But as she accused Dhanak of betrayal, her tone changed and she said, "It's not written on anyone's forehead that they will stab someone in the back. Someone is ours when he stands alongside us."
Requesting JJP supporters to campaign against Dhanak, she said, "If you have relatives in Uklana, then you must work to ask for votes against him. Do the work so that he knows what happens when he stabs the Devi Lal family in the back."