BJP slams Haryana government over burning of dalits' houses

Bharatiya Janata Party has blamed the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Haryana government for the incident in Gohana in Sonipat district of the state, where 50 houses, belonging to dalits, were set on fire on Wednesday by the upper caste jats.

Police however put the figure at around 40 houses.

Over 1500 dalits, living in the village, fled their houses in anticipation of the violence by the jats. The jats suspected that one of the dalits in the village was involved in the murder of a jat last Saturday.

"This is a straight case of non performance of its duty by the state government. The state administration knew that the tension between the dalits and the jats was building up over last few days but it did not take preventive measures to protect the dalits," charged Vijay Kumar Malhotra of the BJP.

But when it came to the role of Kishan Sagwan, BJP member of Parliament from Sonipat, Malhotra defended him saying that MP had nothing to do with the incident.

"He was attending parliament that got over on August 30. Law and order is the responsibility of the state government and Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda must take the blame for the incident," he said.

The state government has rushed police and para military forces in the area to prevent further escalation of violence in the village.