Expressing disappointment over Haryana being divided on the basis of caste, the Congress Party on Wednesday asked the Centre and the state government to compensate for the losses in the wake of the protests by members of the Jat community.
"Whatever has happened in Haryana in the last week is extremely unfortunate. And this episode sends a very wrong message not only to Haryana but the entire nation.There is a Constitution in independent India and we must work as per the law," Congress leader P.L. Punia told ANI.
"The manner in which Haryana is being seen divided on the basis of caste, approximately properties worth Rs. 30,000 crore has been damaged and many people have been killed. Neither the Centre nor the state government is taking adequate steps to compensate for the damage. Even this is an issue, which needs attention," he added.
Earlier, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu called on all the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs from Haryana for a meeting in wake of the violence across the state by the members of the Jat community demanding reservation in government jobs.
Union Ministers Mahesh Sharma, Rao Inderjit Singh and Sanjeev Baliyan were present in the meeting along with Ashwini Chopra, BJP general secretary in-charge of Haryana Anil Jain and Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who was yesterday heckled by protesters and shown black flags when he visited Rohtak, met with the members of the high-level committee headed by Naidu.
The committee formed by the BJP is looking into the pros and cons of various options on the Jats' demand.
The Haryana Government has asked insurance companies to settle within 15 days the claims of the persons, whose insured establishments have been damaged due to arson, loot and vandalism during the recent agitation.
