Jayant Chaudhary Supports diktat of Baghpat khap panchayat

In a shocking turn of events, RLD chief Ajit Singh's son, Jayant Chaudhary, backs the Khap diktat on women in Uttar Pradesh. He says that the Khap has issued instructions and they should not be taken as a diktat. The Khap panchayat had earlier slapped a Taliban-style diktat on women stating that they should not go out anywhere unless accompanied by a male relative. “Everybody has a right to manage the affairs of one’s family the way they want. They (the panchayat members) are doing just that. It is no diktat. It is a mere suggestion from their side,” said MP and RLD chief and aviation minister Ajit Singh’s son, Jayant Chaudhary, after he visited the panchayat members on Saturday. He avoided answering direct media queries on the issue of women’s rights in light of the panchayat orders. Earlier, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) and All India Jat Arakshan Samiti (AIJAS) had supported the diktat.

Chaudhary said panchayats and village elders put in continous effort to creat awareness among the youth about dowry, foeticide and other evil practices. "Thus it cannot be considered as diktats or orders but can be called guidance," he said. His comments came against the backdrop of directives issued by a panchayat in Asara village in Baghpat's Ramala area in UP banning love marriages and barring women below 40 years of age from going out for shopping and using mobile phones outside their homes. Meanwhile another Khap Mahasabha takes a welcome move in Haryana demands murder charge for female foeticide. In Haryana they took the unanimous decision and declare openly that female foeticide was as gruesome as murder. "Female foeticide is a crime which also gives rise to another evil of honour killing. By ensuring the end of female foeticide, we could also curb incidents of honour killing," said Om Prakash Maan of Khap panchayat.