Now, BJP seeks ban on non-Hindus at Kedarnath, other Hindu shrines

Now, BJP seeks ban on non-Hindus at Kedarnath, other Hindu shrines

S.M.A.KAZMI

Dehradun, March 16

After ‘Love Jehad’, ‘Land Jehad’, ‘Mazar Jehad’, ‘Thook Jehad’ and initiating action against mosques and ‘madrassas,’ now the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its’ latest anti-Muslim rhetoric has called for a ban on non-Hindus in Kedarnath and other Char Dham Hindu shrines.

Asha Nautiyal, BJP Kedarnath legislator in a statement said that she would request Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for a ban on non-Hindus at Kedarnath and other ‘Char Dham’ Hindu shrines alleging that by consuming meat and liquor, these non-Hindus are not only hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus and bring a bad name to these revered Hindu religious places.

She said that in a recent preparatory meeting of the local traders for the coming ‘Char Dham’ yatra held with Rudraprayag district incharge minister Saurab Bahuguna, the local traders demanded such a ban. She charged that non-Hindus are selling non-vegetarian food and liquor items and hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus by their activities.

Interestingly, Asha Nautiyal had won the Kedarnath assembly bye-election last year and the ruling BJP led by Chief Minister had indulged in anti-Muslim campaign by targeting a few Muslim shopkeepers in the assembly constituency. Hate mongers like Swami Darshan Bharati and his team were unleashed by the ruling BJP to target few Muslim shopkeepers by threatening them and tearing bill boards from their shops.

The latest demand by the BJP was probably prompted by the fact that some Muslims from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh every summer come with their horses and ponies to provide transportation to the Kedarnath pilgrims. “ There are no shopkeepers but very few Muslims who work with their horses and ponies on Kedarnath pilgrimage,” said Trilochan Bhatt, a journalist.

Earlier, in 2021, Ajendra Ajay, a RSS leader who also headed the Kedarnath-Badrinath temple committee had raised the issue of Muslims buying land in the hills of Uttarakhand creating a fear psychosis in the run up to the 2022 state assembly elections. A survey conducted by the state administration on the alleged land purchase by Muslims proved to be totally false.

Reacting to the latest demand, Uttarakhand Congress senior Vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana said that the ruling BJP has a policy to spread hatred for communal polarisation for its’ ulterior political ends. Addressing media persons, here today, Dhasmana said that BJP in a bid to camouflage its’ utter failures on all fronts including Indo-US relations, treatment of Indian deportees, economic distress, Mahakumbh stampede, stampede at New Delhi railway station are manufacturing  unnecessary communal.

“ They tried hard to communalise the situation during ‘Mahakumbh’ and later Holi, but the common people of India ,both Hindus and Muslims have defeated their nefarious design by maintaining peace and harmony,” he added.

Meanwhile, Trilochan Bhatt, a senior journalist in a face book post, reacting on the demand said that non-Hindus do not consume liquor or eat meat at these shrines but some Nepali Hindu labourers working there might be doing that. He said that he can say so since he himself had worked at the shrine as a ‘Coolie’.