No lapse of Centre, Haryana in handling Jat agitation: Rajnath Singh

New Delhi, Mar 9: There was no lapse either on the part of the Centre or the state government over the handling of the protests in Haryana on the issue of reservation for jats, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday.

Facing flak from opposition members over the violence in the state, Singh said "I don't see lapses on part of the Centre or the state." He said the Haryana government expected a solution to the Jat quota issue to emerge out of the talks with community leaders but the protests turned violent after an incident where BSF had to open fire on protestors claiming three lives.

Replying to supplementary questions in Rajya Sabha, Singh said the Centre had issued an advisory and the state government had its own intelligence inputs too.

"The government of Haryana was posted with intelligence inputs and an advisory was also issued to the state on February 19," Singh said.

Rejecting criticism that there was "utter failure" on the part of Manohar Lal Khattar-led government, he said an inquiry commission headed by former DGP Prakash Singh has been set up to look into various aspects and asked the members to wait for its report.

Government of Haryana was posted with intelligence inputs during stir: Rajnath

Giving details of action taken following the violent incidents, Singh said 2012 FIRs have been registered, 370 people arrested, besides 20 cases registered by the Government Railway Police. "Action is being taken," he said.

In its statement, the Home Ministry said the Centre had deployed 69 companies of central armed police forces and 56 army columns to maintain law and order in the state.

There was "good coordination" between the Centre and the state, it said. Earlier, members of various political parties slammed the government over the violence in the state.

PTI