NEW DELHI: The BJP on Monday rushed to claim credit for bringing the rapist Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to justice, saying that the party led administration in the state created the environment for justice to be finally delivered in a 15-year old case.
“There have been a number of instances in the past when the state administration could not execute the court order on claims of mob power of such Babas (sect leader). Despite Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh claiming millions of followers, the Haryana government ensured that the there were no impediments to delivery of justice,” the BJP national general secretary and party in-charge for Haryana Anil Jain told reporters.
The BJP welcomed the court award of 20 years of jail term to the controversial sect leader, saying that finally justice had been delivered. Though the Punjab and Haryana High Court had rapped the Manohar Lal Khattar led state government for inaction, the BJP leader claimed that the administrative response to deal with the situations was well thought of. “If we had arrested and taken him (Gurmeet) in custody before conviction, there could have been widespread incidences of arsons and violence in which hundreds of people may have ended up being killed. The government took the best option to first wait for the pronouncement of conviction and afterwards swiftly controlling the situations. Now, we can say that the decision was the most appropriate,” added Jain.
Clearly seeking to corner the Congress, the BJP leader said that the Opposition party had been taking the support of the Dera leader since 2002. “No one should take the support of a convicted leader, including political parties,” said Jain. He, however, stated that none could be untouchable until conviction in a criminal case.