Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday asked the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal to not carry out their Jalabhishek Yatra proposed for August 28 in Nuh and urged people to instead worship in local temples.
Khattar’s remarks came days after the two groups insisted that they would go ahead with their planned procession, despite the Nuh district administration denying them permission for the yatra. An earlier procession, on July 31, was attacked at Nalhar village in Nuh, sparking communal clashes that spread to other parts of Haryana, leading to the death of at least six people.
Speaking on the sidelines of a program in Panchkula on Sunday, Khattar said, “Since there was a law-and-order situation during the yatra last month, permission to carry this yatra was not given. The authorities have already made an appeal to the organizers and devotees to avoid such a yatra again and urged them that instead of taking out this yatra, they could perform poojas in local temples, which is a routine practice during the month of Sawan.”
Khattar’s remarks came days after the two groups insisted that they would go ahead with their planned procession, despite the Nuh district administration denying them permission for the yatra. An earlier procession, on July 31, was attacked at Nalhar village in Nuh, sparking communal clashes that spread to other parts of Haryana, leading to the death of at least six people.
Speaking on the sidelines of a program in Panchkula on Sunday, Khattar said, “Since there was a law-and-order situation during the yatra last month, permission to carry this yatra was not given. The authorities have already made an appeal to the organizers and devotees to avoid such a yatra again and urged them that instead of taking out this yatra, they could perform poojas in local temples, which is a routine practice during the month of Sawan.”
