Haryana Cong delegation stopped from entering Nuh villages

A 10-member delegation of Haryana Congress on Tuesday was stopped from entering violence-hit villages of Nuh district, police said.

Citing curfew imposed in the area and security concerns for the delegation, a senior police officer said the delegation was stopped at Rojka Meo village and were stopped from entering villages affected by the communal clashes in the district.

The delegation returned after that, police said.

Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda said they wanted to listen to the problems of affected people in Nuh city and send out a message of peace.

"If the huge force deployed today to stop us had been deployed that day also, there would have been no clash between the two communities. The government is entirely responsible for this whole episode. Obviously, the government was negligent and their intentions were not right," Hooda said.

"The purpose of the delegation was to meet traders and other affected people of Nuh city, and give out a message of peace after listening to their issues. We also wanted to visit the Shiva temple at Nalhar," he added.

The delegation was led by state Congress president Chaudhary Udaybhan. Deepender Singh Hooda, Captain Ajay Singh Yadav, Mahendra Pratap, BB Batra, Bajrang Das Garg, Rao Dan Singh, Pankaj Dawar and Jitender Bhardwaj were also part of the delegation.

Hooda also said that both the home guards who died in the violence should be given 'martyr status'.

The family of the deceased should also be given financial assistance and a family member should also be given a job, he said.

Slamming the Haryana government, senior Congress leader Captain Ajay Singh Yadav said, "The Haryana government is not even ashamed of its failure. Our delegation wanted to go to Nuh with the purpose of restoring peace. Politics is of no use at this point."

Party state chief Chaudhary Udaybhan said that they will inform the Congress high command that were stopped from visiting the affected parts of Nuh.

Meanwhile, the police said that a the work of the administration would have increased if there was a 'political visit'.

"Permission is not allowed due to the imposition of Section 144 in the district. The administration is making every possible effort to help the victims. If there is a political visit, the work of the administration will increase," Nuh SP Narender Bijarnia said.

"The situation is moving towards complete normalcy. To prevent any further disruption, we are requesting them to undertake their visit after the situation becomes completely normal," Bijarnia said.

Curfew was relaxed for four hours in Nuh during the day, according to the district magistrate.

Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, died in last week's communal clashes that erupted when a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession was attacked by mobs in Nuh and later spread to adjoining Gurugram.

A total of 312 people have been arrested and 106 taken into preventive detention in connection with the communal clashes in the state.

Besides, 142 FIRs have been registered Nuh, Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal, Rewari, Panipat and Bhiwani and other places, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said in a statement on Tuesday.