Congress against honour killings: Hooda

CHANDIGARH - Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda Tuesday said that neither his government nor the Congress party supported honour killings, a day after the Supreme Court issued notice to the state government on the matter.

“We (Haryana government) will not allow anybody to do any unlawful activity. The stand of the Congress party is clear and we would not allow anybody to take the law into their hands,” Hooda told reporters.

“There is no support to honour killings by the Congress party. Congress is a secular party and does not believe in caste and religion,” he added.

Replying to a question on honour killings in the state, Hooda said his government would take appropriate action in all such cases.

On a query on the Supreme Court notice to Haryana, he said that the state government has been following law and rules and pointed out that notice had also been issued to other states.

Asked about the demand to amend the Hindu Marriage Act to ban marriages between people of the same gotra (sub caste) and village, Hooda said that in north India, marriages were generally not solemnized within the same gotra and village.

“However, there are villages where this is not followed as per their local customs. The government is very clear that nobody should take the law into their own hands,” Hooda said.