Speaking at a meeting with workers from the Bharatiya Janata Party's Kisan Morcha at his residence on Sunday, 3 October, Haryana Chief Minister 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".
He proceeded to tell the audience, "When you come out in 2-4 months, you’ll be a big leader automatically. Don’t worry, the name goes down in history."
The Chief Minister's controversial address was hosted live on YouTube, but was taken down after sections of the clip were widely shared on social media.
'Tit-for-Tat': What Khattar said
Talking about farmers, Khattar was heard saying that in districts in north and west Haryana - there was not much trouble in the south - 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.
Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala criticised Khattar's remarks on Twitter, saying "If only the Chief Minister of the state talks about spreading violence, breaking the society and destroying the law and order, then the rule of law and constitution cannot run in the state."
The Haryana Chief Minister's remarks come over a month after former Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Karnal Ayush Sinha was caught on tape, instructing his officers to "break the heads" of protesting farmers.
The state's Congress Committee President Kumari Selja condemned Khattar's call for violence in a tweet. Other party members also took to Twitter to criticise the chief minister and called for his resignation.
(With inputs from The Indian Express)
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