Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar, who has come under fire over his mishandling of the Dera issue, on Sunday, said that the violence by the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim
could have turned much worse had the Government not been alert.
The State Government had taken steps after due consideration in compliance with the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, said the Chief Minister while talking to the mediapersons at Karnal.
“Had the Government not been alert, the situation could have been much worse,” he said.
The Haryana Government had come under attack for allowing a huge build up of Dera Sacha Sauda followers in Panchkula before the verdict by CBI court on August 25.
Violence broke out there after Ram Rahim’s conviction in rape cases, leaving 34 people dead. Six others died in incidents of violence in Sirsa.
Ram Rahim was later sentenced to 20 years in prison.
On August 30, Manohar lal had ruled out his resignation after meeting BJP chief Amit Shah in New Delhi, saying his Government had acted with “restraint” in handling the situation.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister said that he would contest the next election from Karnal as the people of the constituency have accorded him a lot of respect.
At the same time, he added he would accept whatever the party decides in this regard.
Khattar (63) is a first-time legislator from Karnal and became the Chief Minister when BJP came to power for the first time on its own in Haryana in October 2014.
He also said the Haryana Government would organise a programme on the completion of three years of its tenure.
The programme would be organised on a grand scale between October 26 and November 1. The venue would be decided later by the committee concerned, he said.
Reiterating that the present Government is carrying out equitable development of all parts of the State, including those neglected by the previous Governments, Manohar lal urged the people not to allow themselves to be misled by some leaders of Opposition parties who were criticising the Government.
The present Government is working with the objective of serving the people, and if leaders of Opposition parties offer good suggestions, these would be weighed and considered, he added.
On power sector, Manohar lal said that the State Government is making efforts to provide 24-hour power supply throughout Haryana by reducing further the line losses which had been pared by five per cent. These would decrease by another five per cent in the next two years. Power is being supplied round-the-clock in districts of Panchkula, Ambala and Gurugram, he said.
The Government has also ensured water supply to 250 out of the 300 such tail-ends as had not got water during the last 25 years. Repair
work is being carried out at accelerated pace to supply water to the remaining 50 tail-ends, he said while listing out his Government’s achievements.