Uttarakhand BJP govt. focus on ‘Thook Jehad’ (Spit Jehad) ahead of Kedarnath bypoll
Listen to this articleUttarakhand BJP govt. focus on ‘Thook Jehad’ (Spit Jehad) ahead of Kedarnath bypoll
S.M.A.KAZMI
Dehradun , Oct 16
After ‘Love Jehad’, ‘Land Jehad’, ‘Mazar Jehad’ and ‘Biryani Jehad’, the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Uttarakhand government ahead of the Kedarnath by-elections scheduled to be held on November 20, 2024, has now focussed its’ attention on ‘Thook Jehad’ ( spitting jehad). In a communal polarisation bid, the eateries, restaurants and meat sellers in the state have been asked to display on their shops whether the meat they are selling in ‘Jhatka’ or ‘Halal’as per instructions issued by the state government authorities.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami who had been claiming for the past one week that ‘Thook Jehad’ and ‘Land Jehad’ would not be tolerated in ‘Devbhoomi’ ( Land of Gods) Uttarakhand at any cost, conveyed a meeting on October 15 and issued strict instructions to police as well as health authorities to check ‘Thook Jehad’ immediately.
The Director General of Police (DGP) issued instructions to all the district police chiefs stating that in view of the incidents of spitting at some eateries reported in social media, the police need to ensure hundred per cent verification of all the employees of hotels and dhabas, the owners be encouraged to have CCTV cameras in their kitches, local intelligence units be strengthened to check such incidents on eatables being sold on carts, patrolling to check such incidents be intensified. The order further said that if need be random checking of such Eateries be done with the help of health and food departments and if any cuh incidents are found action under section 274 of the BNS and section 81 of Uttarakhand Police Act be initiated and if religious sentiments of locals are hurt by such actions then action be ensured under sections 196(1) (B) or section 299 of the BNS and awareness programme for health, food, local bodies, panchayats should be launched.
The Dehradun police led by SSP Ajai Singh launched a vigorous campaign in which police teams inspected dhabas, hotels, restaurants and carts selling food products and informed the owners about the latest instructions. As per Dehradun police press release, a total of 1047 establishments were checked and 135 owners of eateries where unhygienic conditions were found were challaned under Police Act. A total of 127 persons working in such establishments were brought to respective police station for their verification.
By evening today, Chief Minister Dhami and state Health minister dr. Dhan Singh Rawat further announced that anybody indulging in such activities would be fined between Rs. 25,000 to Rs one lakh. Later, the state health department came up with Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on the issue. Uttarakhand Health secretary Dr. R. Rajesh Kumar all those business dealing with food products need to wear face masks and hand gloves compulsorily. They should not indulge in smoking, spitting or making any unhygienic move. All the workers of eateries were asked to have photo identity. All the eateries have been asked to get their establishments registered or face action.
The SOP further said that as per the instructions of the National Minority commission letter dated December 26, 2022 all the eateries, hotels, restaurants and meat sellers having meat products should display whether the meat is ‘Jhatka’ or ‘halal’ and failure to obey any of the above conditions would invite strict action under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
Interestingly, what prompted Chief Minister Dhami to embark on such vigorous exercise was two reported cases of alleged spitting in the social media. While, a hype is being created on “Thook Jehad” taking help of the plaint media, nobody cared to check the veracity of these allegations.
Two Muslim youth running a tea kiosk at Mussoorie were arrested and sent to jail on the charges of allegedly spitting in tea being served to customers. They were charged with spitting in the tea they were serving at a road side kiosk at Library Chowk, Mussoorie. In another case, a video of a known restaurant owned by a Muslim near Inamaullah building in Dehradun went viral in which a worker making ‘Rumali Roti’ was allegedly charged with spitting on the Roti while preparing it. The video was reportedly made from a nearby police building. The Dehradun police investigated the matter and found the charges untrue.
Jamshed Quraishi owner of the restaurant alleged that due to whatever reasons his shop was falsely targeted and the incident is being used for ulterior political motives. He said that the worker who was accused of spitting had been working in his restaurant for the past more than 15 years. He charged that the said video was shot from a nearby building to defame his restaurant.
