Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s remarks on a judge Sunday have sparked a political row, with the Opposition accusing him of “interfering with the functioning of a high court judge and trying to threaten him”.
Khattar reportedly made the comment while speaking to the public at Kharak Kalan village of Bhiwani on the first day of his three-day visit to the district, a video of which has since gone viral.
In the video, the CM can be heard assuring someone: “Wo hal ho jaayegi, chinta mat karo. Ek judge hai. Uske maathe mein kuchh gadbad hai. Theek karenge usko (Don’t worry, That issue will be resolved. There is one judge who has a problem. We will fix him).”
Khattar’s assurance came as a response to some members of the public alleging that though the government had given jobs, some were stuck in court cases. Claiming that his government had, in the past eight years, given over 1 lakh jobs, of which 10,000 successful candidates were from Bhiwani and 40 from that village, Khattar asks, “Tell me if anyone had to pay even a single paisa for getting jobs.”
“Paanch mein se teen hazaar join ho gaye na? Baaki jo do hazaar bache hain, uske mein bhi court ka faisla jaldi karwa lenge (Haven’t 3,000 out of 5,000 joined their duty? We will soon get a court order for the remaining 2,000),” Khattar is seen saying.
Though the CM didn’t specify which recruitment he was referring to, Congress general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Randeep Surjewala has alleged that he was talking about the recruitment of constables in Haryana Police over which a case is pending before Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Congress reacts
In a press note issued later in the day, Surjewala termed Khattar’s comment as arrogant and an ‘interference’, adding that he used ‘threatening language’ against a high court judge. He demanded that Khattar seek an apology from the judiciary. ThePrint has a copy of the press note.
Surjewala also said that the chief justice should issue a contempt of court notice against Khattar for trying to influence and intimidate the judiciary.
“The language used by Khattar for the judiciary is reflective of his party and the government’s shameful and arrogant conduct, character, and face. If the CM does not apologise for his utterance, he should be immediately dismissed from his post,” he said.
According to Surjewala, Khattar’s language was proof of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) obsession with the judiciary.
“Union Minister for Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju keeps on cursing the Supreme Court on a daily basis and threatens retired judges. Now Khattar has taken over this role in Haryana,” said the Congress leader.
He said when the chairman of the Haryana Service Selection Commission (HSSC) has himself gone on record to say that the biometrics of 833 candidates for constable posts could not be matched, how can the judiciary be blamed?
“If a recruitment process started in 2019 could not be completed till now, is this the fault of the government or the judiciary?” Surjewala asked.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)