Om Prakash Chautala, the former Chief Minister of Haryana and leader of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), passed away on Friday at the age of 89 at his home in Gurugram.
Chautala served as Haryana’s Chief Minister for a record four terms, beginning in December 1989, with his final term lasting from 1999 to 2005.
Born in January 1935 in Chautala, he was the son of Chaudhary Devi Lal, the sixth Deputy Prime Minister of India. Throughout his career, Chautala was a significant figure in Indian politics, though it was marred by controversies, including a recruitment scam that led to his imprisonment. In 2013, he was sentenced to 10 years for his involvement in a scam related to the illegal appointment of junior basic teachers in Haryana between 1999 and 2000. He was released from Tihar Jail in July 2021 after serving nine and a half years.
