The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Saturday came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the violence which rocked Panchkula and many other parts of Haryana as well as Punjab, Delhi and Rajasthan after the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. While responding to Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain, who is representing the Centre, the court said ”He is the Prime Minister of India, is Haryana not a part of India? Why is it that Haryana and Punjab are treated like step children?” Before this, the court had also pulled up Haryana’s Chief Minister ML Khattar saying ”You let a city like Panchkula burn due to political reasons,” according to an NDTV report.
The court also reprimanded the Haryana government for failing to curb the violence in the city after supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda Chief burnt and destroyed public and private property in the city. The court said ”The Haryana government surrendered to the situation and let it escalate”. The court added that the government had sacked a police officer but did not punish the political masters of the policeman who gave him wrong direction, as per the report.
Coming down heavily on the state government, the court said ”Haryana’s Chief Minister yesterday said that there have been lapses, these lapses should not have happened”. The Haryana government is being criticised for allowing over 1 lakh supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to congregate in Panchkula ahead of the verdict in a rape case despite a ban on large gatherings, according to the report.
