Saini rebuked for his inflammatory speech

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 31

The Prakash Singh Committee report made public today has come down heavily on Raj Kumar Saini, BJP MP from Kurukshetra, and other leaders such as Roshan Lal Arya, Manoj Duhan and Sandeep Kalkal for delivering inflammatory speeches before and after the Jat agitation.

“A distressing aspect of the unfortunate events in Haryana was that leaders of communities demanding and opposing reservations were making rabid statements in season and out of season. There was no restraint in the choice of words. Abuses were hurled. Adjectives were fired. It was a free-for-all. It was like adding fuel to fire,” said the report in its Chapter 4 ‘Adding fuel to fire’.

It said that a simple reading of the statements by these leaders clearly brought out that the atmosphere was being vitiated, that leaders opposed to reservation for Jats and those in favour of reservation were both spreading poison.

The report reproduced several inflammatory speeches by Saini against members of Jats, and statements by Duhan, Kalkal and Arya.

The report mentioned a statement by Hisar MP Dushyant Singh Chautala at the second Vishal Jat Mahasabha where he allegedly said, “Loha Tata ka, joota Bata ka aur chhora Jatan ka are the best in the world (Tata’s steel, Bata’s shoes and Jats’ sons are the best in the world).”

“The Saini leaders, particularly their Member of Parliament, systematically needled and provoked the Jat community,” the report of the former IPS officer said.