Manohar Lal Khattar (born 5 May 1954) is an Indian politician serving as the Minister of Power and Housing & Urban Affairs in the central Modi government since June 2024. He is a prominent leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party and served as the 10th Chief Minister of Haryana from 26 October 2014 till his resignation on 12 March 2024.
Manohar Lal Khattar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Union Minister of Power | |
| Assumed office 10 June 2024 | |
| President | Draupadi Murmu |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | R. K. Singh |
| Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs | |
| Assumed office 10 June 2024 | |
| President | Draupadi Murmu |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Hardeep Singh Puri |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| Assumed office 4 June 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Sanjay Bhatia |
| Constituency | Karnal, Haryana |
| 10th Chief Minister of Haryana | |
| In office 26 October 2014 – 12 March 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Bhupinder Singh Hooda |
| Succeeded by | Nayab Singh Saini |
| Member of Haryana Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 26 October 2014 – 13 March 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Sumita Singh |
| Succeeded by | Nayab Singh Saini |
| Constituency | Karnal |
| Leader of the House Haryana Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 26 October 2014 – 12 March 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Bhupinder Singh Hooda |
| Succeeded by | Nayab Singh Saini |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 May 1954[1] Nindana, Punjab, India (present-day Haryana) |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Residence(s) | New Delhi, Delhi, India |
| Alma mater | University of Delhi |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | manoharlalkhattar |
In the 2024 Indian general election, he was elected to the Lok Sabha, lower house of the Parliament of India from Karnal, Haryana.[2] While he was the Chief Minister, he represented the Karnal constituency in the Haryana Legislative Assembly from 2014 till 2024.[3] He is a former RSS pracharak and worked as an Organizational General Secretary of the BJP in Haryana from 2000 till 2014.
Personal life
editKhattar was born on 5 May 1954 in Nindana village of Meham tehsil in the Rohtak district of East Punjab, India into a Punjabi Hindu family.[4][5] His father, Harbans Lal Khattar, had migrated to the village from the Jhang district of West Punjab following the Partition of India in 1947. His family initially settled in the Banyani village of Rohtak district and took up farming.[6]
Khattar completed his matriculation (final year of high school) from Pandit Neki Ram Sharma Government College, Rohtak.[7] He then moved in with relatives in Delhi, and ran a cloth shop with them near Sadar Bazar[8] while completing his bachelor's degree from University of Delhi.[9]
Political career
editKhattar joined Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1977 and became a full-time pracharak three years later.[10] As a pracharak, he is a lifelong bachelor.[11] He worked as a full-time pracharak for 17 years before moving to BJP, in 1994.[10][7]
During 2000–2014, Khattar was Organizational General Secretary of the BJP in Haryana. during his tenure the state unit was also started a publication of Bhajpa Ki Baat magazine in October 2000.[12] He was the Chairman of BJP's Haryana Election Campaign Committee for 2014 Lok Sabha Elections.[13] Subsequently, he became a member of BJP's National Executive Committee.[13] [14]
In 2014, Khattar was nominated as BJP's candidate from Karnal constituency for the Haryana Legislative Assembly election, 2014. The party's workers and supporters in Karnal launched a signature campaign, asking the party leadership to field a local candidate instead of him.[15] His opponent, the Indian National Congress candidate and Deepender Singh Hooda, accused Khattar of being an "outsider" not native to Karnal. But Modi wave helped Mr. Khattar win elections by heavy margin.[16]
In the elections, the BJP gained a majority in Haryana for the first time, and Khattar won his maiden election by a margin of 63,736 votes. During a party meeting, his name was proposed for the Chief Minister of Haryana post by Haryana BJP President Ram Bilas Sharma, seconded by other strong Chief Minister of Haryana claimant Rao Inderjeet Singh and supported by many MLAs. He became the BJP's first Chief Minister of Haryana after his swearing-in ceremony on 26 October 2014.[17][18]
On 27 October 2019, Khattar was sworn in as the chief minister for the second time, after making an alliance with Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janta Party post 2019 Haryana Legislative Assembly election.[19][20]
Khattar submitted his resignation to Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya on 12 March 2024 after the development came amid speculation of cracks emerging in the state's ruling BJP and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) coalition over seat sharing ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,[21] and on 13 March he tendered his resignation from the Haryana Legislative Assembly.[22]
In March 2024, he was announced as the BJP candidate for the Karnal constituency in the 2024 Indian general election.[23] Khattar subsequently won from the seat.[2]
Major initiatives
editPolice reforms
editKhattar announced that Haryana will have an all-woman police station in each district and around 500 woman constables will be recruited. He also started a 24×7 portal called Harsamay through which anybody can file a complaint online.[24]
He has also suggested that Yoga to be a part of police constables' training to help keep the police personnel mentally and physically fit. According to media reports, Khattar has said that Police recruitments would be made on Transparent Recruitment Policy (TRP) and 3,060 new houses would be constructed for police personnel at a cost of Rs 550 crore in next three years.[25]
E-governance
editManohar Lal Khattar has introduced e-services through Common Service Centres including biometric attendance system in all the government offices through which attendance of all officers will be available online and monitored.[26]
Indian reunification
editIn July 2022, Manohar Lal Khattar championed the cause of Indian reunification, declaring opposition to the partition of India.[27] Khattar likened the present divisions in the Indian subcontinent to those of East and West Germany, which were dissolved with German reunification in the 1990s.[27]
Women's empowerment
editManohar Lal Khattar's Government has been in news for taking steps to implement Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana scheme that was flagged off by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The child gender ratio has been improved in Haryana since he assumed power. It is now 889 girls per 1,000 boys. "Efforts are being made to further take it (child gender ratio) to above 900," Khattar has said in a public statement.[28]
Construction of memorial
editManohar Lal Khattar has publicly declared that his government will build a memorial to mark the sacrifice of Garud Commando Gursewak Singh, who was killed in a terrorist attack in Pathankot.[29]
Controversies
editManohar Lal Khattar is criticised for his remarks on rape and women issues.[30] During his election campaign for 2014 polls in India, he said: "If they (women) want freedom, why don't they just roam around naked? Freedom has to be limited."[31][32] Likewise, on 16 November 2018, he has stated, "The biggest concern is that in 80-90% of rapes and eve-teasing cases, the accused and the victim know each other. In many cases, they know each other for a long time, and on one day, when there is an argument,... an FIR is lodged, saying that this person has raped me." This evoked strong condemnation from the opposition.[33] On 3 April 2023, he again stirred a controversy by making a remark that a "[high court] judge needed to be "fixed". The opposition believes this is interference with the judiciary and have demanded an apology and that a contempt of court notice be issued against him.[34]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Haryana Gets Manohar Lal Khattar As New Chief Minister". Metro Journalist. 21 February 2014. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Haryana Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: Full and final list of winners including Manohar Lal Khattar, Selja, Deepender Singh Hooda and more". The Times of India. 6 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar and cabinet resign amid cracks in BJP-JJP alliance". Mint. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "BJP and caste equation in Haryana". Livemint. 15 October 2019.
- ^ "The 'vulnerable Punjabi' in an unthinkable post in Haryana". The Indian Express. 28 October 2014.
- ^ Bhatia, Varinder (31 January 2024). "No house for Haryana CM? Khattar hands over his only ancestral house in Rohtak". The Indian Express. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Haryana CM Khattar resigns: A quick look back at his political journey". Hindustan Times. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ Varma, Gyan (22 October 2014). "Manohar Lal Khattar: From cloth merchant to Haryana's first BJP chief minister". Mint. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "Profile: Manoharlal Khattar". MyNeta.com. 19 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Who is Manohar Lal Khattar?". India Today. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ Mohan, Archis (21 October 2014). "Evoking memories of lawless Chautala-regime helps BJP win Haryana". Arhis Mohan. Business Standard. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ "Bhajpa Ki Baat is the official magazine of the Bharatiya Janata Party". BJPHaryana.org. 5 October 2002. Archived from the original on 5 October 2002.
- ^ a b "Will accept decision of party's parliamentary board, says BJP's CM-post frontrunner Manohar Lal Khattar". Zee Media Bureau. Zee News. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ "Manohar Lal Khattar RSS & BJP Journey". BJPHaryana.org.
- ^ "BJP workers launch signature campaign against outsiders in Karnal". Anita Singh. Times of India. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ "Haryana elections: Khattar rides on Modi wave, Congress plays the outsider card in Karnal". IBN Live. Priyanka Rathi. 14 October 2014. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ "Manohar Lal Khattar to be sworn in as Haryana CM on October 26 in oath ceremony at panchkula". India Today. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ "BJP chooses Manohar Lal Khattar as Haryana Chief Minister". The Economic Times. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ "Haryana govt formation updates: Manohar Lal Khattar sworn-in for 'second innings' as CM, Dushyant Chautala takes oath deputy CM". Firstpost. 27 October 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ^ "Manohar Lal Khattar takes oath as Haryana CM for second term, Dushyant Chautala as Dy CM". The Economic Times. 27 October 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ^ "CM Manohar Lal Khattar, cabinet resign after cracks in BJP-JJP alliance". Hindustan Times. 12 March 2024. Archived from the original on 12 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ Sandhu, Kamaljit Kaur (13 March 2024). "Haryana ex-Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar resigns as MLA". India Today. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ "Second list of BJP candidates for ensuing General Elections 2024 to the Parliamentary Constituencies of different states finalised by BJP CEC". bjp.org. 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ "Haryana: CM Khattar announces all-woman police stations for all districts". Hindustan Times. 2 May 2015. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015.
- ^ "Haryana govt to implement HRCOCA to check organised crime". Business Standard. PTI. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ "Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar to launch seven e-services on May 2". DNA. 30 April 2015. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b "India, Pakistan, Bangladesh can reunite, says Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar". The Indian Express. 26 July 2022.
- ^ PTI (7 January 2016). "'Haryana's child sex ratio improves to 889 girls per 1,000 boys'". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- ^ PTI (5 January 2016). "Memorial to be build [sic] for slain Commando Gursewak: Manohar Lal Khattar". The Economic Times. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
- ^ Yadav, Jyoti (11 August 2019). "Haryana CM Khattar didn't say 'bring girls from Kashmir', but he sure found it funny". ThePrint. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- ^ "And Now Haryana's New CM Khattar Wants Girls to Dress "Decently"". The Citizen. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- ^ Roychoudhury, Shibaji (22 October 2014). "Manohar Lal Khattar, who blamed women for India's rising rapes, is new Haryana CM". Scroll.in. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- ^ "Manohar Lal Khattar: Haryana CM Khattar sparks controversy with rape remark". The Times of India. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- ^ Manav, Sushil (3 April 2023). "Haryana CM Khattar's remark on HC judge sparks political row. Opposition calls him 'arrogant', demands apology". ThePrint. Retrieved 12 March 2024.