Ready to set up panel for talks: CM
Khattar open to forming a committee of MLAs or ministers, accuses Jat leaders of continuously ‘changing goalposts’
CHANDIGARH: Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday said his government was open to setting up a committee of the House or ministers to hold talks with Jat leaders for peaceful resolution.
He was responding to the discussion in the assembly on the adjournment motion moved by Opposition members and an independent legislator on the Jat agitation, said his government had kept its doors open for a dialogue.
“The problem is they keep changing their goalpost. They first had a charter of 11 demands and then they came up with a set of 28 demands. If things are moving forward, another set of demands comes up ,” he said.
The adjournment motion notice was given by legislators of the Congress, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Independent member Jai Prakash for a discussion on the month-long agitation. During the three-hour debate on the “burning issue”, they accused the government of backtracking its promise to fulfil the protesters’ demands, seeking immediate steps, including setting up of a high-level committee for talks, to end the stalemate.
Congress MLA Raghuvir Singh Kadian began by telling the House that there was a feeling among protesters that injustice had been done to them. “The government had agreed to accept their demands at a meeting held at Union home minister Rajnath Singh’s residence during last year’s stir, but did nothing thereafter,” he said.
“Before the situation goes out of hand, the government should set up a committee of ministers or a committee of the Vidhan Sabha to hold talks with the protesters ,” he said.
Jai Prakash, who agreed with the Congress’ suggestion of a high-level committee for talks, blamed the state government for both last year’s stir and the present stalemate, accusing it of going back after agreeing to meet their demands. “They want government jobs for kin of shaheeds (martyrs) of last year’s agitation, but all the state government is willing to do is to give temporary jobs at ‘DC rate’ to them,” he said.
The independent MLA said the government made no effort to withdraw cases registered against Jat youths . “TADA, murder and attempt to murder cases have been withdrawn in the past,” he said.
INLD legislator Abhay Singh Chautala blamed a series of mis- takes of the state government and provocative statements of the BJP leaders for the situation.
After the discussion got over, speaker adjournedtheHousefor 30 minutes. When the House re-assembled, Congress and INLD members staged a symbolic walkout, expressing dissatisfaction with the CM’s response.
“There was politics involved. Though a BJP MP kept making statements and set up an OBC brigade to vitiate the atmosphere, no action was taken by the party or the government against him,” he claimed, recalling the sequence of events before the protests turned violent in February last year. He also accused the government of being selective in taking action in cases registered after violence during last year’s protests.
BJP, OPPOSITION EXCHANGE BARBS
The House saw short and sharp verbal spats between members of the ruling BJP and the Opposition during the discussion on the quota stir. During the CM’s reply, finance minister Capt Abhimanyu took a dig at the Congress by questioning its intent behind giving reservation before the state assembly elections. “Their government came in 2005. Why did they think of reservation in the eighth year and, that too, in a half-baked manner?” he said.
Reacting to the charge, Congress MLA Raghuvir Singh Kadian threw a challenge to the finance minister to resign from his Narnaund assembly seat and fight against him from there. “If he fights me, Abhimanyu will forfeit his security deposit,” said the Congress legislator, flatly denying the charge.
The FM later had another exchange with Congress member Geeta Bhukkal when he said that the government had offered to hand over the case related to arson at her house in Jhajjar to CBI, but she refused. When Bhukkal said she was not in favour of selective transfer of stir-related cases to the central agency, Abhimanyu wanted to know why she was reluctant, adding that he sympathised with her.
“It was a constitutional breakdown. We don’t want a repeat. If the government is arrogant, they should resign and face the people. They are ready to teach them a lesson,” she responded.