As the CBI carried out searches at the residence of former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Rohtak, Congress MLA Kuldeep Sharma lambasted the BJP government and charged that the action was intended to stop the veteran Congress leader from attending a poll rally to be held on Friday in the run-up to the Jind assembly seat bypoll.
The Jind bypoll, which has turned out to be a multi-cornered contest, will take place on January 28.
"The Jind byelection is going to take place and today, a poll rally was organised. It (CBI raid) was to happen and it was carried out with an intention of political ill-will in order to influence the byelection," Sharma said to reporters in Rohtak. "The BJP government got this despicable act done in order to stop Hooda from going to the rally," alleged Sharma, who is MLA from Ganaur.
Hooda was to address the poll rally in favour of Congress nominee Randeep Singh Surjewala in Jind. The former Haryana chief minister, along with other senior leaders, had been campaigning for Surjewala for the crucial Jind bypoll.
A CBI team from Delhi on Friday raided Hooda's house in Rohtak and other places in a land allocation irregularities case, officials said. The CBI is carrying out searches at 30 other locations in Delhi-NCR, officials said.
The former Haryana chief minister, along with his son and MP Deepinder Singh Hooda, was also present in the residence.
The Congress has fielded Jat leader and All India Congress Committee communication in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, a sitting legislator from Kaithal, while the ruling party BJP has nominated Krishan Middha, son of INLD legislator Hari Chand Middha, whose death necessitated the bypoll.
The INLD has fielded local Jat leader Umedh Singh Redhu, while the newly-floated Jannayak Janta Party, a breakaway party from the Chautala family-led INLD, nominated political greenhorn Digvijay Singh Chautala.
Counting of votes in the Jind bypoll will be held on January 31.
