Compensate kin of deceased Dera followers, says Haryana Minister Anil Vij

Anil Vij demanded that kin of these people should be given compensation on the lines of those who were killed during the Jat reservation agitation last year. (Source: Express File Photo by Jasbir Malhi)

Even as senior Haryana government functionaries, including Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, have maintained that not one of those Dera Sacha Sauda followers who died in the August 25 violence were innocent, state Cabinet Minister Anil Vij has said kin of those who were killed or injured that day should be given compensation.

Followers of Sacha Sauda Chief Ram Rahim were allegedly involved in arson and damaging government property on August 25 in Panchkula and Sirsa and 41 persons died in the violence.

Vij Thursday demanded that kin of these people should be given compensation on the lines of those who were killed during the Jat reservation agitation last year. After initially denying monetary compensation to kin of those killed in police firing during the Jat agitation in February last year, the Haryana government had later given compensation to kin of all 30 who died.

“There should not be two laws in one state, equal treatment is key. Kin of the victims of the Panchkula violence should be given compensation of Rs 10 lakh and government job to one of their family members. The government should take action in this regard immediately,” Vij added. Vij reportedly took up the issue with Khattar during an informal meeting of the state cabinet Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Haryana Assembly Abhay Singh Chautala criticised the BJP leader over his remark. “They (dera followers) were invited to Panchkula and then they lost their lives. Now, to gain sympathy, this BJP leader (Vij) is making statements seeking compensation to them,” said Chautala, a senior leader of INLD, while blaming BJP leaders for the deaths of the dera followers.

“If not for the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Khattar government would have allowed (dera chief) Gurmeet Ram Rahim to serve his imprisonment in a rest house rather than in a jail,” Chautala alleged. Chautala also targeted “the political and criminal maneuvering of the state BJP government” in connection with the Dera Sacha Sauda followers resulting in the deaths of 41 persons at Panchkula and Sirsa after the conviction of the Ram Rahim under rape charges on August 25.

“This vote-bank politics leads the state from one crisis to another ending in deaths and destruction each time. The ever-deteriorating law and order situation in the state is reflected in the increasing number of heinous crimes, including cruel murders and rapes of children in every district. The failure of the government on this front has emboldened criminals,” Chautala added.