Haryana Chief Minister (CM) Manohar Lal Khattar, on Friday, 8 October, withdrew his controversial “tit for tat” remark. According to NDTV, the CM said:
"I withdraw my statement. I don't want to encourage any sort of clash in the society.”
This retraction comes days after asking Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers to raise groups that would dole out the said treatment to protesting farmers.
The CM also said that he will be skipping a social programme organised by the Aggarwal community in Kaithal district on Saturday, as “farmers have given a call to oppose it despite my apology.”
Haryana’s assembly speaker Gian Chand Gupta, on the other hand, said that he will be in attendance.
Khattar’s Original Remark
Speaking at a meeting with workers from the BJP's Kisan Morcha at his residence on Sunday, 3 October, Manohar Lal Khattar made controversial remarks asking party workers to create groups with hundreds of volunteers in every district of north and west Haryana, who would be ready to face "sticks and jail time".
Talking about farmers, Khattar was heard saying that in districts in north and west Haryana should gather hundreds of volunteers and ensure that they would be willing to act "tit for tat." When asked a question by an audience member, he assured that the volunteers need not worry about bail.
"Once you serve jail time for a while, you'll learn more there than this meeting can teach you. You'll become big leaders and your name will go down in history", he said.
He later cautioned his audience that no matter what, they must remain disciplined and not cross lines.
(With inputs from NDTV.)
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