category Regional, chandigarh, , tags Regional, chandigarh, , DW BUREAU Chandigarh Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday said the decision to hold state assembly and Lok Sabha polls simultaneously next year rests with the Election Commission. The chief minister also asserted that he was ready for the elections whenever they were held. While Assembly elections in Haryana are due in October, the Lok Sabha polls are scheduled for April-May. The decision has to be taken by the Election Commission and the central government... but we are ready, Khattar told reporters here when asked about the likelihood of simultaneous polls. The EC, if it wants, can conduct simultaneous polls if there is a gap of six months between two elections, Khattar said, adding in Haryana s case, the gap is less than that. Replying to a query about Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh being released on furlough and parole thrice this year, Khattar said prisoners have a right to seek parole, and whether they get it or not depends on their conduct inside the jail. The 56-year-old Dera chief is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples. Reacting to the BJP choosing new faces over veterans as chief ministers after winning assembly polls in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, Khattar said, A leader is a leader and new or old does not matter. One who is elected MLA is chosen by the people, so all those who are elected are leaders. Out of those elected leaders, new ones are given an opportunity and this is a very good tradition in the BJP, he said. Khattar also took a dig at the Congress, saying it has been reduced to a party of one family . The chief minister also refuted the claim by Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda that the party performed well in Rajasthan areas bordering Haryana which indicates that the the mood of the people was against the BJP-JJP government. Their analysis is wrong as according to my information, out of the 27 such seats, BJP won 17, said Khattar. (editor dailyworld.in)