Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 25

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday blamed the BJP government led by Manohar Lal Khattar for large scale violence that erupted post the conviction of the Dera chief which left over 30 people dead.

While the Haryana CM blamed anti-social elements behind the violence, Amarinder while talking to The Tribune said, “It is the responsibility of any state government to maintain law and order. It is a clear case of abdication of responsibility by Haryana Government.”

“The BJP is politicising the issue by blaming Punjab. It is clearly aimed at covering up the failure of the BJP government in Haryana,” he said.

The CM expressed shock and said the situation was allowed to escalate by the Haryana Government.

The trouble could have been averted had the Dera supporters been stopped from aggregating in one place, he said.

“Haryana Government should have stopped trains and buses from reaching Panchkula, just as Punjab had done,” he said, adding that as an administrator he would not have allowed such a large crowd to gather.

The Punjab CM said it is difficult to control a large hysterical crowd once it is allowed to accumulate.

Preventive and precautionary measures should have been taken in time, he said.