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Geetanjali Gayatri
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 5
Unwilling to accept the Opposition’s blame that his government’s ideology was responsible for a sudden spurt in the incidents of communal tension in Haryana, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said the guilty will be dealt with strictly.
“The police rounded up people for the Atali incident yesterday and more can be taken into custody. We wanted the two communities to resolve the issue. However, they seem incapable of living in harmony, so we have to take action against them. We cannot let the tension escalate. Whoever has a problem with the construction of the mosque can move court, but causing violence will not be tolerated,” the CM told The Tribune.
“We were working on the theory of persuasion and wanted the two communities to resolve their misunderstandings. The minority community had returned to the village and things started getting better. However, some miscreants flared up the situation again,” the CM said.
He said security had been beefed up in Atali and the Rapid Action Force had also been deployed. “Communal matters are sensitive and rushing into any decision can have a fallout in the surrounding areas. We ensured the residents that it will not happen and gave away Rs 38 lakh for damages to the villagers who suffered during the initial violence. We are even open to re-assessing their losses if they demand,” Khattar said.
He said the government was against “forced conversions” and would protect the interests of the people.
While refusing to accept that there was any a “spurt” in the incidents of communal tension, Khattar claimed that the Opposition had no benchmark for comparison. “We are in government for the first time. We are a government of the people and believe in equality of all religions. These isolated incidents have taken place, but we are completely in command of the situation,” he emphasised.
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