'Govt can't protect everyone,' says Haryana CM Khattar amid violence

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday, while talking to media about Nuh violence, said that it is not possible for the state to "protect everyone".

"If there is no amity, there is no security. If everybody insists on opposing each other, there is no security. It is not possible for the police, Army, or you and I to protect each and every one," Khattar said as he appealed to people to maintain peace in the state.

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However, after Khattar's "we can't protect everyone" statement was played out by several media houses, the CM clarified saying that his words were taken out of context.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday welcomed her Haryana counterpart and BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar's statement that not everyone could be protected, but she said that the government should not promote casteism or communal tension.

Banerjee, however, alleged that the incidents of communal tension were scripted by the saffron party, the motto of which is to divide people to win elections.

"I have seen Manohar Lal Khattar's statement. Not as a politician, but as a citizen of this country, I will appreciate his statement because it's a fact that the government cannot give protection to everyone,” Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress supremo, told a press conference.

After six people, including two home guards, have been killed in communal violence in Haryana, Khattar on Wednesday said it is not possible for the government to protect every citizen.

“But I would also say that the government cannot promote casteism, creedism or communal tension... The communal tension started as the BJP is playing a dirty game to divide people on the basis of caste, creed and country to win elections," Banerjee said.

The government, however, can provide peace to people, she said.

Sometimes it might be difficult to handle a situation as there can be problems related to caste or community but one should give it a try, the West Bengal chief minister said.

“If we are mentally strong, united and do not divide the people, such things will not take place. It happens because of hate speech and provocation," she said, claiming that the country is burning because of instigation.

Banerjee also wondered why no central teams were sent to these states where the incidents of communal violence have taken place.

On Parliament taking up the no-trust motion moved by the opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A over the ongoing ethnic strife in Manipur next week and Prime Minister Narendra Modi replying to the debate on August 10, Banerjee asked why a specific date was chosen when it was an "urgent" matter.

"Is there an astrological angle behind it? It's an urgent issue," she said.

(With inputs from PTI)