The Times of India
Haryana's Jat violence like 1984, says Sukhbir
CHANDIGARH: Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal has compared the recent violence in Haryana for Jat reservation to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
In an exclusive interview to TOI, he has also said that such riots have continued in the country because the perpetrators of the 1984 violence were not booked and given exemplary punishment and even hinted that the Haryana government was not doing enough.
Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh had recently commented that non-Jats, especially Punjabis, were targeted during the violence in Haryana and that Shiromani Akali Dal had remained a mute spectator to it. But Sukhbir said, "I strongly condemn what happened there. It is something like what happened in 1984 against the Sikhs. Whoever is guilty has to be put behind bars. Nobody has the right (to commit such acts of violence)."
He lamented over the slow rate of convictions in caste and religion related violence. "Unfortunately in our country no one has been convicted for such violence. It is just like 1984. Here also (in Haryana) I've seen that over the last few years nobody has been identified or put behind bars. From the newspapers I have read so far, it has not clearly come out how many people have been arrested. If they don't put these people (the rioters) behind bars, then these things will keep happening. You have to set an example. What happened in 1984? Nothing happened. That is why a lot of other riots took place. People feel that in a riot you can do anything."
The deputy chief minister also said that the Haryana government hasn't booked enough people to deter such violence in the future. "The arrests that they are showing are not the kind of numbers that have looted Haryana and caused extensive damage," he said. "I think the Haryana government should not care about repercussions because they should first give a clear message by putting behind bars anyone who is involved."
He said rioters are often given legalised protection in the country. "The only way to stop such violence is for every state and central government to take firm action. I believe that the punishment should be exemplary - not that you put someone behind bars for a week and then bail and everything is normal. They (the rioters) have ruined lives of people. They have ruined businesses that were built over years."
It seems that Sikhs also have turned anti Jats....
