Clarifying its stand on khap panchayats, the Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday said any organisation that sought to use coercion, violated the law and defended murders was “absolutely unconstitutional.”
“Khap panchayats have no legal sanctity and if they try to resolve disputes by listening to only one community or by coercion, then we as a party do not accept that,” chief spokesman Yogendra Yadav said here.
Expressing “surprise” at the ‘spin’ in the media put on his remarks on khap panchayats in Haryana, Mr. Yadav said: “All castes and communities have social organisations for internal dispute resolution but no coercion can be permitted. The law of the land is supreme and a murder is a murder.”
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Mr. Yadav was answering questions on his party’s stand.
“Rights include rights to equality. Gender equality is a fundamental constitutional right as also non-discrimination on the basis of castes.” Mr. Yadav, who is tipped to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Haryana, said most disputes before panchayats were not only inter-caste but also involved the young generation versus the old. “We believe nobody has any business to tell another person how to dress, who to talk to and who to marry.”