CM hits out at Oppn for playing caste politics

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Meham (Rohtak), November 12

Lashing out at the Opposition parties, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today said they had played dirty politics to divide society into castes to serve their political interest.

“The parties shattered the social system to grab votes,” he said at Vishwakarma Jayanti Samaroh organised at Kaathmandi in Meham, 35 km away from Rohtak.

The Chief Minister blamed rising competition among castes to seek reservation in government jobs for slowing down the pace of social development and called upon those people, who had taken the benefit of quota, to let deserving ones avail the benefit.

“There is need to define parameters to strengthen the social system by bringing a significant change in its economical, social and educational conditions. Casteism and regionalism are threats to the social fabric of the country, yet Opposition parties have left no stone unturned to divide the people on the lines of caste and region for their political interest,” the CM said.

Khattar claimed the state government had launched development projects for every section of society so that no one faced difficulty in earning their livelihood.

“We have identified 32 blocks across the state to ensure industrial development and providing jobs to people as per their skill. The business houses will be able to set up their units in these blocks without getting the change of land use (CLU) certificate,” Khattar said, adding the state government had decided not to acquire any land without the consent of farmers.

On panchayat poll, the Chief Minister said the government would respect the Supreme Court’s verdict on minimum education qualification criteria for sarpanches and panches.

“If the decision is against the government, it will be deemed that the apex court wants illiterate people to represent the Panchayati Raj Institutions,” he said and added the criteria of academic qualification had been set to ensure proper implementation of government schemes by educated representatives.