Another Khap Panchayat began in Haryana’s Kurukshetra on Friday after Soram Sarv Khap panchayat on Thursday reserved its say following the meeting in Muzaffarnagar on the ongoing wrestlers’ protest. A unanimous decision was supposed to be taken at today’s meeting of the Khap panchayat but the members attending the meeting engaged in a short scuffle resulting in chaos.
Representatives of various khaps and farmers’ outfits from various states including Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh attended the meeting Jat Dharamshala. The meeting was held to deliberate on the next steps to be taken in the agitation by the wrestlers against outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over allegations of sexual harassment. However, a scuffle took place during the meeting.
The video of the scuffle went viral over the internet in which the members of the Khap Panchayat could be seen snatching mics and pushing the members on the dias. In the video, several men in white kurta pyjamas could be seen involved in a heated argument and pushing each other. However, the reason of this fight has not been revealed.
Meanwhile, Rakesh Tikait, a farmer leader, stated that the culprits should be brought to justice and that the government has seven to ten days to do so.
“A big message from Haryana (to the government) should be conveyed from here (Khap Panchayat in Kurukshetra). Let them have 7-10 days time (to take action). They cancelled the June 5 meeting (Brij Bhushan’s ‘maha rally’ in Ayodhya) after coming under pressure from the Khap Panchayat,” Tikait was quoted saying on wrestlers’ protest.
This is after Jan Chetna Rally being organized by BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and the saints of Ayodhya on June 5 was postponed. Reports mention that the BJP MP did not seek permission from the Ayodhya administration for the rally. A senior official also stated that the rally could not be allowed since Section 144 was already in place in Ayodhya.
The decisions of the Khap Panchayat held in Muzaffarnagar were reserved for discussion in the Khap panchayat in Kurukshetra. On Thursday, it was resolved during the Khap Mahapanchayat meeting that a team would meet President Droupadi Murmu to demand justice for wrestlers accusing BJP MP and WFI chairman Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of allegedly sexually assaulting female grapplers.
Naresh Tikait, a leader of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, also convened the maha panchayat on Wednesday after he and other farmer leaders successfully stopped some of India’s best wrestlers from tossing their medals into the Ganga river in protest at what they claimed was police inactivity against the WFI chairman.
The Balyan Khap is led by Naresh Tikait. Khap chiefs from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi all attended the mahapanchayat. Rakesh Tikait said at the maha panchayat that the khaps would meet again on Friday in Kurukshetra to make further choices.
Olympic medalists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, as well as the gold medalist from the Asian Games, travelled to Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar on Tuesday with their fans to toss their medals into the Ganga. However, they gave in when Khap and farmer representatives requested an additional five days to resolve their complaints.
Two FIRs have been filed by the Delhi Police against the BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The second FIR was filed in response to outraging modesty, while the first FIR was filed in response to claims made by a young wrestler under the POCSO Act. Singh, who has categorically rejected all allegations against him, declared on Wednesday that he would hang himself if even one accusation were to be proven.
It is to be noted that several derogatory slogans have been raised amid the wrestler’s protests at Jantar Mantar which has been ongoing for months now. It was reported that slogans like ‘Modi Teri Kabar Khudegi’ and also anti-India ‘Azadi’ slogans were raised during the protests.
Notably, similar slogans were raised by protesters in many protests in the past. Anti-CAA protests, Shaheen Bagh protests, farmers’ protests led and supported by Rakesh Tikait, and various other protests in JNU are known for these Azadi slogans. Now, these sloganeers have also joined the wrestlers’ protests.