M A I N   N E W S

Hooda’s no to law on honour killings
Anita Katyal
Our Political Correspondent

New Delhi, August 25
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today denied that khap panchayats had any role in the increasing number of honour killings being witnessed in the state.

Expressing his views before the nine-member Group of Ministers (GOM) which met here this evening, Hooda did not agree with the move to bring a law on honour killings and asked the Centre to exercise extreme caution while handling social reform.

Describing honour killings as a “social evil,” he said the present laws were sufficient to deal with these incidents, which were essentially cases of murder. He also defended his government’s handling of these cases, saying it had taken stringent action against the culprits.

The Harayna CM was called in by the GoM for his opinion after the ministerial panel, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, decided at its last meeting to consult the chief ministers of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh where the practice of honour killings is prevalent before proceeding further on this issue.

While Hooda came in person to give his views on this issue, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati wrote to the GOM supporting the Centre’s move to enact a law to deal with this menace. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who sent word through a senior official, also concurred with the UPA government’s decision in this regard.

Hooda, it is learnt, briefed the panel about the structure and functioning of khap panchayats or caste councils in Haryana.While denying that these councils ordered the killing of young couples who defied their diktat, he also sought to dispel the widespread belief that it was only the dominant Jat community which was organised into khap panchayats. He said such caste councils were common among all communities in the state. Haryana leaders are generally wary of antagonising the powerful khap panchayats as they play an important political role in the state.

Following the increasing incidence of honour killings, the Centre proposed special legal amendments to deal with them. Since there were divergent views on this issue when it came up for discussion in the July 8 Cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister referred it to a GoM. It was suggested that the Centre must consult state governments as the implementation of these laws was their responsibility. Subsequently, Home Minister P.Chidambaram wrote to all chief ministers but only a few had responded.