New Delhi : Caught in a Catch-22 situation, the BJP today came out in defence of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, indicating the party would not be pressured to take a call on his continuation. Khattar may be facing severe criticism for “mishandling and mismanagement” of the situation involving Sirsa dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, but the senior leadership is backing him, for now. BJP general secretary in charge of Haryana Anil Jain said the Khattar government “managed to contain the situation across the state within three hours with the minimum possible damage.” To a question on whether removing Khattar was an option, given the flak he had received from the High Court and as sought by the Opposition, Jain said “there was no such consideration”.
He also claimed there had been “no lapse” on the government’s part in handling the situation. “The situation was such. What followed was sad but had the confrontation (with his followers) occurred before the arrest, the situation could have been worse. The first priority was that the law was followed, that Ram Rahim surrendered and was taken to the court peacefully. The Haryana Government managed to do just that, which in itself is a major achievement,” he said.
Apparently, a decision on Khattar’s future is not expected “anytime soon” because of various reasons. The BJP’s top leaders, who point out that there is “no request” from the party’s state leadership for his removal, maintain that any decision would be taken only after taking into consideration “true facts and hearing all sides”. “Wait for Monday (when the quantum of punishment is announced),” said a senior party leader.