Under fire for supporting khap panchayats which have been backing honour killings, Kurukshetra MP Naveen Jindal has sent an explanatory note to Prithviraj Chavan, AICC general secretary in-charge of Haryana, maintaining that he had been ?misquoted? and that he did not support any wrongdoing of the caste councils.
?I have been misquoted. I am not supporting any wrongdoing of khap panchayats. They are my constituents and if they want me to hear them out, it is my duty to do so. They wanted me to take their message to the government, so I gave their memorandum to the chief minister,? Jindal said on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Chavan told reporters that he had written to Jindal, asking him to explain his comments in favour of khap panchayats.
Attending a khap mahapanchayat at Kaithal in Haryana on Monday, Jindal was said to have sent them a letter praising them for their ?yeoman service? to society.
Khap panchayats want the Hindu Marriage Act amended to ban marriages within the same gotra. Jindal had said he would convey their message to the Congress high command and the government.
Jindal claimed he had not received any letter from the party seeking an explanation and that he himself decided to send an explanatory note to Chavan.
On his letter to the khap panchayats, Jindal said he had only written that they have played ?an important role in a historical perspective?. ?I had also written about social ills like dowry and female foeticide, asking them to take up such issues. I asked them to work as per the law of land,? he said.
The Congress had reacted strongly to Jindal?s remarks, distancing itself and maintaining that it was opposed to any killing in the name of tradition or honour.
