Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said he had no role in the parole granted to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh as jails have their own rules. Ram Rahim, who is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two women disciples at his ashram in Sirsa, was granted parole for 40 days last week.

The decision to grant him parole ahead of the Adampur bypoll in Haryana on November 3 and panchayat elections has triggered a furore. For the last few days, Ram Rahim has been holding online discourses from his Barnawa ashram in Uttar Pradesh. These discourses have been attended by scores of his followers, including many Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders from Haryana. Asked about Ram Rahim's parole at a press conference here, Khattar said he had no role in it.