Dera violence: Haryana CM ML Khattar meets Amit Shah following demands of his resignation

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar met his party chief Amit Shah today in Delhi to submit a report about the violence that erupted in Panchkula and other parts of his state last week after a court pronounced Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim guilty of rape.

Khattar apparently gave himself a thumbs-up in the report and told reporters that his government did well to control the situation. "We have submitted our report to Amit Shah. We followed court orders and worked with patience to control the situation. I have done my job to the best of my ability," Khattar told reporters after his meeting with the BJP chief.

If highly placed sources within the BJP are to be believed, the party fully backs Khattar and he is unlikely to be removed. Dr. Anil Jain, BJP's Haryana incharge, too backed Khattar.

"Considering the large scale followers of Ram Rahim, the violence was contained and contained well in time by the Khattar government," Jain told Khattar. A top source in BJP told India Today on condition of anonymity,"Those who are asking for CM's resignation are unaware of Haryana politics."

Last Friday's violence in Panchkula and Sirsa, Dera headquarters, killed 32 people and nearly 300 were injured.Massive destruction of property was also reported from Haryana and nearby states as Gurmeet Ram Rahim's followers went berserk following a special CBI court's verdict holding him guilty of raping two of his disciples inside Dera ashram in Sirsa 15 years ago.

Ram Rahim was later awarded 20 years in jail for the crime.The Punjab and Haryana High Court had castigated the Manohar Lal Khattar government over the violence, saying saying it had "surrendered" before the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for "political considerations".

"After the CBI court verdict, you immediately came to know that anti-social elements got mixed up with the followers, but how is it that you failed to take note when large number of Dera followers arrived in Panchkula," the high court bench pointed out .