Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said the law will take its own course on the land deals in the state involving businessman Robert Vadra's company.
"Law will take its own course," he said when asked by reporters here to comment on the land deals involving the son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Asked about other alleged land scams during the previous Congress government in the state, Khattar maintained that the law will take its own course.
Khattar was speaking to reporters after his Minister, Bikram Singh Yadav, assumed charge at the Haryana Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh. When asked to comment on Vadra reportedly losing his cool and pushing the microphone of a reporter in Delhi when questioned about land deals involving his company, Haryana's Health Minister Anil Vij told reporters in Ambala today that "one only reacts in such a manner and shows anger when one has something to hide".
Vij said that the media was just doing its job as it is its responsibility to ask questions and dig out facts. He said the way Vadra reportedly behaved showed that he has "little respect for the media".
BJP had alleged irregularities in the land deals involving Vadra and had raked up the issue during campaign in the 2014 Lok Sabha and before last month's Assembly polls to attack Congress.
Replying to questions, Khattar said that the BJP government will strive to give a clean and transparent administration to the people, besides curbing corruption with "an iron hand". BJP stormed to power in Haryana for the first time in the history of the state after the October 15 polls.
After taking oath on October 26, Haryana Ministers Anil Vij and Capt Abhimanyu had said that the new regime will order a thorough probe into the alleged land scams and not spare anyone, even if it was Robert Vadra or former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Senior Congress leader Rashid Alvi said though freedom of the media was of paramount importance, "making a mountain out of mole hill" was not the right thing to do. Another Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit described the incident as unfortunate and said that basic civility should be maintained while dealing with the media. He, however, added that he was not aware of the circumstances related to the incident and was not speaking as a party spokesperson since the matter was between an individual and a camera-person.
"I haven't seen it and I am not responding as a Congress spokesperson because it is a matter between an individual and camera-person. All I would say is, for any person, there is a public etiquette and a decorum we all maintain and you can have over-bearing media people at times, I can appreciate that, but I think for anybody we must maintain basic civility.
"I think if we have some grouse we should first let it go, this kind of public display is unfortunate," Dikshit said. He further said that the incident may have happened for whatever reason but it is unfortunate.
When asked whether Vadra should apologise, Dikshit said it is for any individual to decide but added that it is always good to assuage if you have hurt somebody's feelings. Commenting on the incident, CPI leader D Raja said it was an "unacceptable conduct" and that it should be seen how the I and B ministry will take up the issue.
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