Khattar Government on Failing ;High Court

political surrender # Punjab and Haryana High Court slams Khattar government on failing to prevent violence#  “This was political surrender to allure vote bank”, says court following Haryana violence # Presents by www.himalayauk.org (Newsportal) 

A day after deadly violence struck Haryana, that claimed 31 lives and left over 250 injured, the Punjab and Haryana High court on Saturday came down heavily on the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government, saying “this was a political surrender to allure vote bank”.

Thousands of Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) followers went on a rampage in Panchkula on Friday as news broke that their chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh had been convicted of rape by a CBI special court. The violence spread to other towns in Haryana and parts of Punjab as well. Few incidents of arson were also reported in Delhi.

A full bench of the High Court 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 raising law and order concerns as a large number of people had reportedly entered the district despite prohibitory orders.

The court said that since Haryana Chief Minister Mr. Khattar had given a statement that anti-social elements created a problem, then why was the government unable to prevent their entry for the past seven days.

“This was political surrender to allure vote bank,” the court remarked.

Compensating losses

Punjab’s Advocate General Atul Nanda said that the bench has taken serious cognizance of yesterday’s violence. “The court observed that the loss due to the violence is a loss for nation and the taxpayer. This loss will be compensated by those who are responsible for it,” he told reporters here.

Mr. Nanda said the court has directed the DSS to give its list of properties and has been instructed not to sell or transfer its properties till further orders.

“The court has also directed the Deputy Commissioners of Punjab and Haryana to collect claim petitions from people who have suffered losses due to the violence and submit it to respective advocate generals, who will then place it before the court,” he added.

The court has fixed the next date of hearing for August 29, he said.

SABHAR