Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Monday blamed the Congress for “orchestrating” communal violence in Nuh.

“Our government is democratic and secular, allowing people of every religion to freely practice their religious activities based on their beliefs,” he said condemning the Nuh incident while speaking during the ongoing Monsoon session of the Haryana Assembly where the the Opposition Congress pressed for a discussion on violence in Nuh.

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“I just want to say that the investigation till date and the arrest of 500 persons are indicating that it was all orchestrated by the Congress party,” the minister said.

The Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta refused to allow discussion on the Nuh issue in the House on Monday, insisting the matter was ‘sub-judice’.

Leader of Opposition and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said only matters pertaining to demolition of houses in Nuh is sub judice in the court. “We are not demanding discussion on demolition, we want discussion on Nuh violence and the conspiracy behind it,” he added. The Congress demanded a judicial probe into the suspected plot behind the violence.

Meanwhile, the Nuh administration on Monday allowed only 15 seers and leaders of right-wing groups to offer prayers at the Shiv temple in the Nalhar area.

Nuh deputy commissioner Dhirendra Khadgata said the 15 seers and leaders of some Hindutva outfits allowed to visit the Shiv temple in Nalhar and perform ‘jalabhishek’ there included Mahamandaleshwar Swami Dharm Dev and Swami Parmanand.

Hindu seer Jagatguru Paramhans Acharya from Ayodhya was stopped at the Ghamorj toll plaza near Sohna. Acharya told reporters that he and his followers were carrying the water of the Saryu river and the soil of Ayodhya for the ‘jalabhishek’ at Nalhar temple but were stopped by the police. He sat on a hunger strike near the toll plaza as a protest.

The locals were, however, allowed to offer prayers in the temples in their neighbourhood on the last Monday of the holy month of Shravan. Haryana remained on high alert with heavy security arrangements in place.

Nuh administration had on Saturday denied permission for resumption of Braj Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in the communally charged district.

Section 144 of the CrPC was imposed in Nuh and mobile internet and the bulk SMS services were also suspended in Nuh till 28 August as a preventive measure following calls given by some organisations inviting people from Haryana and other neighboring states to reach Nuh on 28 August.

Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, had died in the communal clashes that erupted in Nuh when a religious procession of the VHP was attacked by a mob on 31 July. The clash started after Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s ‘Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra’ was stopped by a group of young men near Khedla Mod in Nuh, and stones were pelted at the procession.