By IANS,
Chandigarh: The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), the main opposition party in Haryana, Monday condemned the rampant incidents of honour killings and demanded strict action against the culprits.
“Honour killing is a serious issue and we are totally against it. We do not understand if any person kills somebody, how it could be a matter of honour for him,” Om Parkash Chautala, INLD chief and former Haryana chief minister, told reporters.
“Everybody is connecting these honour killings with Haryana and with a particular community. We have similar incidents also in other states like Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Even the Supreme Court has issued notice to nine states in such cases,” Chautala said.
Chautala said that village khap panchayats (caste councils) are an integral part of the society but he demanded strict action against those who are using it for wrong purposes.
“We have khap panchayats since there were no laws, constitutions and rules and regulations in the society. They are many years old. They were constituted by different sections to settle their internal disputes,” Chautala said.
He added: “But there are some people who are taking law into their hands under the cover of khap panchayats. We strongly condemn it and we are against it. Now it is the duty of our government to deal sternly with such people.”
Talking about the same gotra (sub-caste) marriages, which are the main reason behind majority of honour killings in Haryana, Chautala said: “We are also against the same gotra marriage, even yehudis (Jews) of Europe and Muslims are against such alliance. These marriages are medically unfit.”