Ever since his release from jail nearly a week ago, firebrand Jammu-based leader Chaudhary Lal Singh, along with workers of his party, the Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan (DSS), has not wasted a moment in seeking public support for his demands, which include separate Statehood for Jammu and special status under Article 371.
Mr. Singh, a three-time legislator and two-time Member of Parliament (MP) from Jammu, has emerged as the main voice of Opposition to the BJP’s policies in the region.
His arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on November 7, in an alleged land scam, was condemned by major regional parties such as the National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as well as the CPI(M), and termed “a crackdown on the voices opposing the BJP” in J&K.
The DSS chief has been a two-time Lok Sabha member, first on a Congress ticket in 2009 and later on a BJP ticket in 2014. He also served as a J&K Minister several times. Mr. Singh’s son Divya Suraj has, in recent interviews, accused the BJP of “trying to force” his father to rejoin the party by employing the ED against the family.
‘No going back’
Mr. Singh received a rousing reception as he came out of the District Jail Amphalla, Jammu, last week. The supporters raised “Jai Duggar, Jai Jammu” slogans, a rallying point for the DSS since the abrogation of J&K’s special status in 2019.
The firebrand leader and his party have strongly opposed the Centre’s policies on land and jobs after the revocation of the special provisions of Article 370 and the split of J&K into two Union Territories.
“Mr. Singh will go ahead with the party agenda and public outreach. We seek a separate Statehood for the Jammu division and all the protections offered under Article 371. This is our core agenda. We will not deviate from it,” DSS general secretary Haridutt Shishu told The Hindu.
Mr. Singh, who appeared for his board examination from the Amphalla jail after getting arrested for leading students’ agitation over an increase in bus fare, became a legislator in his late 20s from his home town of Kathua.
Known for his fiery speeches, controversies, and face-offs with leaders from the Valley in the Assembly, Mr. Singh found himself out of favour of the ruling BJP-PDP dispensation in 2018 in the infamous Rasana case, where an eight-year-old was found raped and murdered in Kathua.
He was dropped from the Cabinet after he opposed action against the accused and demanded a CBI probe into the incident. Mr. Singh launched his own party, the DSS, in February 2019.
‘A secular leader’
Leaders of the DSS oppose their chief being labelled as a Hindu strongman.
“Mr. Singh is secular to the core. He is popular among Hindus as well as Muslims. In the Rasana case, Mr. Singh took a stand for a fair investigation by the CBI. However, the treatment meted out to him was unfair. He unsettles Kashmir-based leaders with his politics,” Mr. Shishu said.
The DSS has reached out to people in different regions of the Jammu, seeking support for the separate Statehood demand. It has organised seminars in Jammu city, Kathua, Udhampur, and Poonch and invited thinkers to deliberate on the issue.
“Punjab gave birth to different States. What is wrong if we demand Statehood for Jammu? Kashmir has its own problems. The Jammu region is a pluralistic society and home to all kinds of faiths,” the DSS general secretary said.
Mr. Singh’s decision to organise a welcome rally for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the latter’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in Kathua had raised eyebrows about the DSS chief’s political game plan. “Mr. Gandhi stands for India’s unity. We also believe in the country’s unity. Mr. Singh was approached by the organising members of the Yatra, and he agreed to be part of it,” said Mr. Shishu.
Cases DSS chief
However, the case filed against the Chaudharys has come as a spanner in their public outreach for the time being.
In 2020, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case against Kathua-based educational trust, R.B. Educational Trust, run by Mr. Singh’s wife.
The Jammu-based leader was arrested by the ED earlier this month after accusing him of land grab.
The Central probe agency said Mr. Singh, in connivance with the then revenue official posted at Kathua in 2011, got a plot of land transferred forcibly in the name of the R.B. Educational Trust.
“Part of this land so acquired is being used in running DPS School. As per the investigation, the trust was found to have acquired land in excess of the permissible limit of 100 standard kanals to the extent of 328 kanals,” the probe agency had said.
Mr. Singh has been arrested under the provisions of PMLA. His wife, Kanta Andotra and daughter, Kranti Singh, were earlier granted interim anticipatory bail till November 30 in the case.
The ED this week attached properties worth ₹1.21 crore of Mr. Singh. The attached properties include parts of two colleges and a school in Karandi in the Kathua district.
The arrest had sparked protests across the region. The sympathy and support shown by the party supporters on the day of his arrest, televised live on social media platforms in the first week of November, became a cause of worry for the authorities.
