New Delhi: Haryana chief minister ManoharLalKhattar has ruled out the resignation of state BJP chief SubhashBarala whose son was arrested for stalking a woman asserting the father couldn’t be punished for son’s action.
The Opposition is gunning for Barala after his 23-year-old son Vikas and his friend Ashish Kumar, 27, were arrested in Chandigarh on Friday after they allegedly chased and harassed the disc jockey who was driving home. The two were released on bail.

“The accused will be punished once found guilty. This is my official stand on this matter. This case has nothing to do with SubhashBarala. Such an act is highly condemnable if proved correct,” Khattar told media in Hisar, defending his party colleague for the second time.

The incident comes as a huge embarrassment for the ruling BJP, which launched the BetiBachao, BetiPadho (save and educate the girl child) campaign against female infanticide and also vowed to ensure safety of women.

Party leader RajkumarSaini, who is an MP from Kurukshetra, joined the Opposition’s chorus and said Barala should step down till his son’s name was cleared. 

“Those who give lessons to others should also introspect,” Saini, who has differences with the Khattar government, said.
The two men have been booked for stalking and driving drunk on the complaint of the 29-year-old woman, who is the daughter of an IAS officer.
The two men followed her in their SUV around 12.35am on Friday. The SUV pulled up close to her car several times and even tried to block her way to force her on to other routes, she said in her complaint to police.
“I’m lucky, it seems, to not be the daughter of a common man, because what chance would they have against such VIPs? I’m also lucky, because I’m not lying raped and murdered in a ditch somewhere. If this can happen in Chd, it can happen anywhere,” she wrote in a Facebook post.