Haryana minister Ranjit Chautala on Thursday, 27 February, stoked a controversy after he said that “riots are a part of life.”
Chautala, an independent MLA from the Rania constituency and currently the power minister in the Manohar Lal Khattar Cabinet said that when former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated, entire Delhi was burning.
“Dange toh hote rahe hain. Pehle bhi hote rahe hain, aisa nahi hai. Jab Indira Gandhi ka assassination hua, toh puri Delhi jalti rahi. Yeh toh part of life hai, jo hote rehte hain. (Riots keep happening. They happened before as well. When Indira Gandhi was assassinated, whole of Delhi was burning. It’s a part of life)” he said.
Chautala further said he wouldn’t want to comment much on the matter since it is related to Delhi and is sub judice.
The death toll in the northeast Delhi communally charged violence over the amended citizenship law rose to 34 on Thursday.
Till Wednesday night, the total count of casualties had stood at 27.
"Five more deaths recorded at GTB Hospital, and one more death at LNJP Hospital. One fatality was reported at Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital on Thursday, taking the total death toll to 34," a senior official of the Delhi Health Department told PTI.
One person was declared brought dead by doctors, while another had died during treatment at the LNJP Hospital on Wednesday.
Over 50 patients have been provided treatment at the LNJP Hospital since the violence broke out on Sunday in various parts of northeast Delhi, officials at the hospital said.
More than 200 people have been injured in the violence that raged in Delhi over the last few days.
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