Jat leader’s remark on CM sparks controversy on social media
Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service
Fatehabad, September 26
Jat reservation leader Hawa Singh Sangwan’s remark on Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, calling him a “Pakistani”, has sparked a controversy on social media.The Punjabi community across the state has expressed its anger by burning Sangwan’s effigies and seeking apologies from him. Several political leaders and social activists from Sangwan’s own community have also condemned his tirade.Sangwan, who heads Akhil Bhartiya Jat Sangharsh Samiti, had called Khattar a “Pakistani”; despite the uproar, he has refused to apologise in his subsequent comments on Facebook.Khattar (61) was born and brought up in Haryana, though his father Harbans Lal Khattar had migrated to Haryana from West Punjab (now in Pakistan) along with others during partition.Daulat Singh Chaudhary, a former member of the Haryana Public Service Commission and the Administrative Reforms Commission hit out against Sangwan today.
A Jat himself, Chaudhary said in a Facebook post, “The Jat leader who has called him (Khattar) a Pakistani is a chiselled idiot. It is bound to boomerang on Jats as it would alienate other communities and this polarisation would help BJP. BJP succeeded in creating this polarisation before elections and ensured their victory. This act of the Jat leader would further consolidate this polarisation.”
Chaudhary’s post is drawing lots of reactions from people of different castes and communities.
Sampat Singh, a former minister and six-time MLA from Haryana, said all those who live in this country are Indians.'Pakistani' comment
Jat leader Hawa Singh Sangwan, who heads the Akhil Bhartiya Jat Sangharsh Samiti, had called CM Khattar a ‘Pakistani’. Despite the uproar, he has refused to apologise in his subsequent comments on Facebook.