Former Haryana speaker alleges BJP hand in Jat stir

More than a month after Haryana witnessed violence during the Jat agitation, demanding reservation, political turmoil continues to exist between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition, with a former Congress MLA blaming the saffron party for orchestrating the stir.

Former Assembly speaker Kuldeep Sharma alleged that crimes committed during the Jat agitation were ignited by members of BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He added the RSS and BJP were conspiring to polarise the society on communal and caste lines and targeted state ministers Captain Abhimanyu, OP Dhankar and BJP MP Raj Kumar Saini for their alleged role in inciting the violence.

The former MLA demanded that the government finds out to which party Sudeep Kalkar, a Khap leader, belonged to. A Rohtak lawyer and active leader of the youth wing of the Akhil Bharatiya Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti, Kalkar was arrested for allegedly spreading violence in Rohtak.

Sharma also talked about a recording of a controversial telephonic conversation on February 17, which indicated that the arson and violence were planned. DSP Siddharth Dhanda, chief of the Special Investigation Team in-charge of the probe on the agitation, confirmed Kalkar’s involvement in the arson at the residence of Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu.

Sharma said that there were also photographs, which clearly indicated that Kalkar was close to RSS and was working for BJP MLAs. He gave the state an ultimatum to take action in the matter and answer within the next 24 hours, else he would reveal some new evidence.