Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is a man of few words. The Rohtak strongman, however, stood up to a barrage of questions from journalists at the leaderspeak@ht event in HT’s Chandigarh office on Thursday. Excerpts from the interview:
Haryana has recently been in the news for the wrong reasons. There is growing interference of khap panchayats, which make life miserable for young couples.
The media has also played a role in creating a wrong impression. Give me a single case where khaps hanged someone. Who is responsible for these honour killings – the parents of the boy or the girl? They should be punished.
Khaps use coercive methods by issuing diktats that interfere in the lives of ordinary people
It is not like that. I know instances where khaps have opposed bad rituals and customs in our society, such as dowry.
But do khap panchayats have legal sanctity?
No, they don’t. But khaps and honour killings should not be linked.
Is it not the government’s duty to protect an individual’s right to life?
The court has directed us to set up protection homes for runaway couples and we have done that.
The recent violence and arson at Maruti’s Suzuki’s Manesar plant would have shaken entrepreneurs and industrialists. What is your government doing to ensure that such incidents are not repeated?
This was not an incident of labour unrest. The actual cause of violence will be known only after the special investigating team (SIT) submits its report. Maybe it was planned but let the SIT report come.
The recent violence and arson at Maruti’s Suzuki’s Manesar plant would have shaken entrepreneurs and industrialists. What is your government doing to ensure that such incidents are not repeated?
This was not an incident of labour unrest. The actual cause of violence will be known only after the special investigating team (SIT) submits its report. Maybe it was planned but let the SIT report come.
What are you views on the Jat demand for a job quota?
I support their demand for reservation in central jobs. I recently met then Union home minister P Chidambaram. I have set up a commission to prepare a report on the demand of Jats, Rors, Tyagis and Bishnois, who want reservation in jobs.