Saini’s rally in Rohtak passes off peacefully
ROHTAK: Known for his frequent anti-Jat comments, Kurukshetra BJP MP Rajkumar Saini’s maiden rally in the heart of Jat land here concluded peacefully on Sunday.
In what was seen as a parallel rally to Jat leader Yashpal Malik’s ‘Bhaichara’ rally demanding Jat quota on Saturday, Saini surprisingly spoke of other things and barely mentioned the issue of Jat quota, which he had been strongly opposing in the past.
Despite Rohtak not being his stronghold, thousands of people gathered at New Grain Market here to hear Saini’s speech.
The MP said he had wanted to come to Rohtak much earlier to meet the victims of Jat quota violence in February, but was not allowed by the administration. The violent February riots had claimed at least 30 lives in the state, when properties worth hundreds of crores of rupees were vandalised.
“Several tactics were adopted by the opponents (Jats) to cancel my rally here on August 27. They spoke of not letting me hold a rally reaching here in large number to stall it, so I had to postpone it to Sunday. I don’t oppose reservation for any community. All I say is that if reservation can be snatched through muscle power, then it should be made 100% on the basis of caste and community,” he said. He spoke of increasing unemployment
KNOWN FOR HIS OPPOSITION TO DEMAND FOR JAT QUOTA, BJP MP REFRAINS FROM MAKING ANY STRONG REMARKS IN JAT LAND
in the state and corruption in schemes such as MNREGA.
Criticising the entry of influential people into Rajya Sabha, the MP asked people to raise their hands if they wanted the Upper House of Parliament to be scrapped. “Those who are rejected by people in elections find their way into Rajya Sabha by using the power of their money,” he said.
SUPPORTERS PROJECT HIM AS CM FACE
His supporters, in their speeches on the occasion, even slammed Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. “I saw a dream last night that PM Modi had agreed that Khattar had failed to do any good for the state, so he chose Saini for CM’s post,” a speaker said.