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By Saurabh Duggal
Finally, sports came as a savior for Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to attend back-to-back public gatherings in two villages in Sonipat amid farmers’ protest, on Wednesday.
Since January this year when the protesting farmers ransacked the venue of the Kisan Mahapanchayat’ programme at Kaimla Village of Karnal district in Haryana where the Haryana CM Khattar was to address the people to highlight the benefits of the centre’s three agriculture laws, and eventually forcing the event to be canceled, the leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party- Jannayak Janata Party have been avoiding public gatherings, especially in the villages.
Amid the farmers’ protest at the Haryana-Delhi border, almost the entire cabinet of the Khattar-led BJP-JJP government in the state have been facing massive protests wherever and whenever they make public appearances. And the chief minister himself was avoiding public functions, especially in the rural areas.
But on Wednesday (August 18), Khattar along with his cabinet colleague, sports minister Olympian Sandeep Singh, attended a public function to felicitate Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Ravi Dahiya at his native village Nahri in Sonipat district. On the same day, the Haryana CM also attended another function in the district, at Kurad Village, to felicitate hockey Olympic bronze medallist Sumit.
“Before extending an invitation to Haryana CM Khattar, both the Sarpanch of the village – Nahri has two panchayats – had taken the villagers in confidence and had also taken consent of the protesting farmers. As it’s a function to felicitate an Olympic medallist (referring to Ravi Dahiya) from the village, so no one had an objection over the Haryana chief minister’s presence in the event,” said Ravi’s father Rakesh Dhaiya. Rakesh along with both the village’s Sarpanch had met Khattar in Chandigarh on August 8 and extended the invitation to be part of the Ravi’s felicitation function at the village.
Khattar announced plans to upgrade the village dispensary to a public health centre and to solve the waterlogging issue in the fields.
In Kurad (Sumit’s Village), Khattar announced to set up a hockey nursery and to lay a six-a-side hockey turf in the village.