Within hours of the verdict of Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim violence erupted, a campaign was launched in the media for the resignation of the Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. A similar kind of violence erupted in nearby Punjab also. But no one asked for the resignation of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh! Haryana Chief Minister’s shoot at sight order which resulted in the deaths of more than 30 violent protesters, brought the situation back under control and is one of the fastest in the recent history of mob violence.

The following morning, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) central leadership came forward and rejected the call for the removal of Khattar. On Friday evening, after riots broke out following the verdict, many in the pliant Delhi media were parroting the Congress top leadership’s desire for the resignation of Haryana Chief Minister. This is not the first time that the media has campaigned for Khattar’s resignation. They have planted many a story to suggest that the Haryana Chief Minister is weak.

The reason is simple. M L Khattar is the first BJP Chief Minister who booked Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra for land grabbing case and initiated the National Herald case and promptly ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, saying the matter merits a wider probe. In every violent protest in Haryana, be it the Jat agitation, Rampal crackdown or the Dera violence, one can see the footprints of Congress Dirty Tricks Department.

Within hours of the eruption of violence after the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda Chief, the Haryana Government acted and from the following morning, the situation came totally under control. There is a question, as to why the Haryana Government did not block the entry of over two lakh Dera followers. This is a tricky area. Majority of the followers landed from the nearby state of Punjab. While everybody wants to know why Haryana didn’t, nobody asked the Punjab Government as to why they did not prevent this mass outflow of Dera followers.

After the judgment was delivered. violence also erupted in many parts of Punjab. But there was no shoot at sight order against the violent protestors, even after 64 incidents of arson, torching of government offices including railway stations. The BJP Central leadership should be appreciated for nipping the media propaganda (aided by Congress) in the bud. Sonia Gandhi and family wanted to malign and remove Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for taking action against Robert Vadra and National Herald’s Panchkula land scam. Many media houses are parroting what Congress wants. It is good that BJP has identified this dirty trick.