Media and the judiciary, in that order, came under criticism at the Sarv Khap Mahapanchayat here today.
Speaker after speaker accused the media of �conspiring� to destroy the social fabric in rural areas of states like Haryana, Western UP and Rajasthan by �glorifying socially unacceptable marriages�.
A speaker said the courts were for society and not vice versa.
Another suggested that they should not be answerable to the media, which should be boycotted. Perhaps acting on his suggestion, the organisers of the post-lunch session did not allow the media inside the hall, where the meeting was held, for some time.
It was only later the media was allowed in. The Arya Samaj, which once had a great influence over the Jats of Haryana, was also criticised for allowing its temples to perform marriages of couples after elopement.