Two days after a controversy erupted over his early exit from Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini's programme at a university in Hisar, former MP Kuldeep Bishnoi on Tuesday said he had left the venue only because he had to attend a function in Delhi.
A video of Bishnoi making the clarification while addressing a gathering at a function in Rajasthan's Jodhpur district surfaced on social media on Tuesday.
“The Chief Minister had reached the programme about three hours behind schedule. Though I joined him in two of the events, including the unveiling of the Amrita Devi statue and planting a khejri sapling on the campus. Since I had a programme in Delhi and it was a three-hour drive, I apologised and then took leave of the Chief Minister,” Bishnoi said.
The controversy began after CM Nayab Saini attended a function at Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology (GJUST) in Hisar on Saturday. Bishnoi, who was also invited to the event, joined the Chief Minister during the plantation drive and the unveiling of the statue on the university campus.
However, he left the venue thereafter and did not attend the main function in the university auditorium, although a seat had been reserved for him.
GJUST was established in 1995 by former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, Kuldeep Bishnoi's father.
Another controversy also surfaced during the event when Nalwa MLA Randhir Panihar, considered a loyalist of Bishnoi, was initially left out during the felicitation of dignitaries. After some guests pointed out the omission to the organisers, Vice-Chancellor Prof Narsi Ram Bishnoi walked up to Panihar to present him with a shawl and a memento.
However, Panihar picked up the shawl himself from the table while the Vice-Chancellor stood beside him, though he accepted the memento from him.
The developments have drawn attention as another controversy over the absence of Union Minister of State Rao Inderjit Singh and MLAs considered loyal to him from an event in Bawal town of Rewari district on June 30 continues to simmer within the Haryana BJP.