Dera violence in Haryana: CM Manohar Lal Khattar may escape the axe

Under Khattar three major law & order lapses happened, leading to large-scale arson and looting

A flag march by the Army, 31 confirmed deaths (some from gunshot injuries), a sharp indictment from the Punjab and Haryana High Court and an urgent meeting between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah and party in-charge of Haryana, Anil Jain, only resulted in one concerted message coming out of the BJP: That Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, under whose watch three major law and order lapses happened, leading to large-scale arson and looting, will not be replaced. 

With the party denying he had been summoned to Delhi, Khattar was effectively exonerated of responsibility of the fall-out of the rape conviction of godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and violence by his followers in Haryana and Rajasthan. However, messages were sent out via the social media that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was deeply “upset” at the events in Haryana.

Jain said people who died in clashes on Friday were supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda. He added all Dera Ashrams are being sealed and Dera headquarter in Sirsa is being vacated.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh put out well-publicised messages that he had cancelled other engagements to stay put in the capital and monitor events in Haryana, as local administrative authorities entered the Sirsa ashram of Ram Rahim Singh amid reports that large caches of firearms and explosives had been stored there. Although all political parties have been complicit in the build-up Ram Rahim Singh got as a godman, the Congress criticised the BJP government in Haryana for “sleeping” on the job even though it had more than adequate information that supporters were planning a violent stir. In his defence, Khattar said the arson was the result of outsiders” and “anti-social elements”.

No fresh violent incidents were reported on Saturday, though the areas around Haryana remained tense. Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar saw the closure of petrol pumps, fearing attacks by Ram Rahim Singh’s followers; schools were ordered to be closed till Monday in Punjab and assembly of five or more persons was prohibited in most parts of the National Capital Region.

To prevent any further escalation when the quantum of Ram Rahim Singh’s sentence is announced — he faces up to seven years in jail — sentencing on Monday will take place via video conferencing inside the jail in Rohtak where he is currently lodged.

Internally, the bureaucracy in Haryana blamed the government for inexperience and criminal negligence. “Khattar has a reputation for personal honesty. But the same cannot be said of some of his colleagues: Both in the state and in Delhi. Money is changing hands freely in bureaucratic appointments and posting. When you buy and sell appointments, obviously, performance suffers,” said a senior retired bureaucrat. He gave the example of changes in land-use (CLU) cases. CLU was permitted over land adding up to around 18,000 acres during the Hooda regime. But no CLU files have been reopened. 

“The gap between the people and the government is widening”, he said. 

Retired bureaucrats cite the way the Jat agitation was managed, the scale of the violence being unprecedented. “The police and intelligence chiefs should have been replaced immediately. But one was promoted as the Chief Information Commissioner of the state and the other was made the head of power board.” During the agitation, molestations were reported in Murthal. A commission set up by the government itself named officials who were responsible for negligence, leading to the molestations. No action was taken on the report.

The Army, local administration and paramilitary forces are acting in concert to prevent further deterioration of the situation. The high court has ordered that properties of the Dera be seized to compensate the state and people of Haryana for the public damage caused by vandals. Meanwhile, the Haryana government on Saturday suspended the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Panchkula, alleging that a “defective” order by him allowed the crowd build-up in the district.