Political surrender for vote bank: HC slams Haryana govt for Dera violence

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Saturday castigated the Manohar Lal Khattar government over the deadly violence that erupted in the state, saying it had "surrendered" before the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for "political considerations".

At a special hearing, a full Bench of the court minced no words in slamming the chief minister for "protecting" the Dera followers and extending political patronage to them.

The court observed that the BJP government seemed to have "surrendered before the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda for political considerations."

"This was a political surrender to allure vote bank," it observed, a day after Dera followers went on a rampage across Haryana



following the conviction of the self-styled godman in a rape case by a court in Panchkula.

Thirty-six people have died so far and over 269 are injured, with curfew being imposed at several places.

The Bench, comprising acting Chief Justice S Singh Saron, Justice Avneesh Jhingan and Justice Surya Kant, was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a Panchkula resident who had raised law and order concerns and stated that over 1.5 lakh people had reportedly entered the district earlier despite prohibitory orders.

The High Court also took note of Khattar's statement on Friday in which he blamed anti-social elements for the violence, which also spilled over into neighbouring Punjab, Rajasthan and Delhi.