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Journalism of Courage
WHILE stating that there was provocation from both sides resulting in the violence in Nuh, Haryana, on Monday, Gurgaon MP and Union Minister of State (Independent charge) Rao Inderjit Singh said it was not right for participants in a religious yatra to be carrying swords and sticks.
“Kisne hathiyar diye unko is procession mein le jaane ke liye? Koi talwar leke jata hai procession mein? Lathi-dande leke jata hai (Who gave weapons to them for the procession? Who goes to a procession carrying swords, or sticks)? This is wrong. A provocation took place from this side too. I am not saying there was no provocation from the other side,” Singh said, speaking to The Indian Express.
He also attributed a small fight between children, “who started pelting stones at each other”, as “the spark” that lit the fire.
Singh said he approached Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and the Union Home Ministry to send Central forces to Nuh after realising that the police force was “insufficient”.
The Union minister added that social media posts are leading to “negative thinking” among people. “I have asked the police to probe who uploaded such videos. Someone said there were videos saying, ‘We are coming for this religious function, your daamad (son-in-law) is coming. If you can stop, stop it’. If such irresponsible videos are uploaded, it causes a negative impact.”
According to Singh, the area, which is Muslim-dominated, had not seen such an incident in “the past 75 years after Partition”. “Why did it happen now? I believe social media is responsible.”
The Union minister also regretted killings in the past in the area, such as of Nasir and Junaid in 2022 (belonging to Rajasthan, they were killed by alleged cow vigilantes and their bodies dumped in Bhiwani), leaving “a persecution complex” in the minds of a particular community.
A former Congress leader, Singh has been a Minister of State in the Narendra Modi government for the past nine years. His supporters are demanding that he be the BJP’s chief minister candidate for 2024, arguing that the party never gave him his due despite his contributions to its success. In October 2021, Singh was also dropped from the BJP’s National Executive.
From BJP Hisar MP and ex-Union minister Chaudhary Birender Singh talked of recent “intrigues” in the area as the reason for the disturbance in Nuh and neighbouring districts.
“We are the most peace-loving people in this part of the country, irrespective of caste and religion,” Birender told The Indian Express. “The brotherhood in this area is also very strong. But some intrigues have taken place in the recent past which may be the reason for the current disturbance,” he added, without elaborating.
Birender, whose son Brijendra Singh is a BJP MP from Hisar, had in 2020 sat on a dharna in support of the farmers protesting against the three contentious farm laws, which were later repealed.
Faridabad MP and Union MoS Krishan Pal Gurjar said: “This is an unfortunate incident which should not have taken place. Some people tried to disturb the brotherhood, peace and communal harmony in Haryana for the past eight-and-a-half years (of BJP rule).”
Promising stern action against the guilty, Gurjar said there was a need to strengthen the intelligence system.
