Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal courted controversy on Sunday after he told participants in a ‘Jan Samvad’ programme at Dabwali village in Sirsa district to “beat up” and “send out” a worker of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Kuldeep Gadrana, executive president, AAP West Zone (Haryana), had reportedly raised his hand when Mr. Lal had sought suggestions on curbing the drug menace in the area.
In a purported video of the incident, Mr. Lal can be heard saying, “He is an AAP worker and is playing politics. Beat him up and send him out.”
Senior AAP leader Anurag Dhanda said the Chief Minister should stop holding such events if he can’t answer questions. Mr. Dhanda said AAP workers were not scared of going to jail and would continue to pose questions to Mr. Lal.
‘Picked up by police’
Vikram Gill, Mr. Gadrana’s brother, told The Hindu over phone that plain-clothes police personnel had picked up his brother at the behest of the CM. “He was first taken to the Sadar police station by the Crime Unit and later to an undisclosed location,” he said.
Sirsa Superintendent of Police Udai Meena said he was still gathering details about the incident..
