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Dehradun: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttarakhand has asked local authorities in the state to identify areas that are seeing an increase in the population of a certain “community”, leading the opposition to allege that it could further Hindu-Muslim tensions. is promoting. State assembly elections in 2022.
The government’s order comes in the backdrop of complaints from BJP members over the alleged increase in the state’s Muslim population and illegal construction of mosques.
In an order issued on September 24, the state home department directed district magistrates and SSPs to constitute committees to identify outsiders living in the state and resolve “communal issues”, which were reportedly “a with the increase in the population of the community”.
“The DGPs, District Magistrates and SSPs have been directed to identify and prepare a list of persons from other states residing in Uttarakhand and having criminal history. Complete records of their business activities and verified domicile residential areas should be prepared. A district level committee should be constituted to suggest measures to address the communal issues arising out of increase in population of a community,” the order said.
The Pushkar Singh Dhami government has also asked district officials to keep a check on “illegal sale and purchase of land” in areas where the population is reportedly witnessing an increase.
“It has to be seen that people do not sell their property under pressure or under fear. Details of foreigners residing in these districts, who have obtained Indian voter and other identity cards, should be prepared and legal action initiated.
A statement from the state government on 24 September also indirectly referred to the alleged increase in the population of Muslims, and raised concerns about the possible migration of Hindus from the state.
“Demographic changes have been observed in some areas of Uttarakhand due to excessive population growth. This results in the exodus of members of a particular community from their homes, said the statement issued by the state home department. Apart from this, there is every possibility of increasing communal discord in these areas in the present circumstances.
Reached for comment, Anand Bardhan, additional chief secretary to the CM and head of the home department, told ThePrint, “The DGP, district magistrates and all 13 SSPs have been informed about the concerns of the state government due to rising population in select areas, As stated. in order. They have been asked to remain alert and take appropriate action as per the instructions given in the letter.”
“It is an ongoing process that requires enforcement agencies to be on alert mode and provide feedback to the government. Earlier, the DGP was also asked to give opinion on certain specific complaints received by the Chief Minister, “he said, adding that the government also wants to stop criminal elements taking refuge in Uttarakhand”.
Read also: The BJP may sell 40-50% of its 57 Uttarakhand MLAs, which are seen as an ‘unsafe electoral bet’.
‘Illegal mosques have been built’
In the past few weeks, the state government has received complaints about an alleged increase in the Muslim population.
Right-wing activist, Darshan Bharti, head of the NGO Uttarakhand Raksha Abhiyan, said, “The change in demographics is being observed at many places in the hilly areas. Illegal mosques have been built on government land.
Bharti had written a letter to CM Dhami on the issue on 23 July.
“I started fast unto death against the ‘love jihad’ and ‘land jihad’ seen in Uttarakhand and called off it after the chief minister promised to take action,” he said. The decision of the Dhami government is a welcome step but it should be confirmed by appropriate action at the ground level.
Senior BJP leader and former media advisor to the Uttarakhand government Ajendra Ajay also wrote to the chief minister in August asking him to curb “illegal construction of mosques” in the state.
“There are many localities in Uttarakhand, especially in the hilly areas, where there is demographic instability and illegal construction of mosques. There are few such examples in the villages of Pithoragarh district bordering Nepal,” Ajay told ThePrint.
“Recently, the district administration demolished an illegally constructed mosque in Tehri. The government should enact a law to discourage bulk purchase of land by those coming from other states. This is also important as Uttarakhand shares two international borders,” he said.
Last month, the Dhami government had asked Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar for his opinion on the alleged demographic shift.
“There is a demand for a separate strict law prohibiting land purchase in hilly areas. A senior official of the state police’s intelligence wing told ThePrint that it is being looked into following the home department’s direction to the DGP to seek his opinion.
The official, however, declined to name the areas that the state government is specifically looking at.
Read also: After leopards, tigers and elephants, attacks mount as radio-collared wild bears in Uttarakhand
‘BJP government trying to give communal color to the issue of population’
In the light of the order, the Congress has accused the BJP government of promoting Hindu-Muslim polarization and targeting a particular community ahead of next year’s assembly elections.
Congress member Pritam Singh, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Uttarakhand Assembly, said, “It is a ploy of the BJP government to create Hindu-Muslim polarization during the elections. The Dhami government says that the influx of outsiders into Uttarakhand has led to a change in the demography and the majority community has become a minority in some parts of Uttarakhand.
“The government should explain who these outsiders are and where these demographic changes have taken place. Are they foreign nationals? If so, then legal action should be taken against them.”
“The BJP government is targeting a community when elections are near and they have nothing to show as a demonstration to the people. If it was so serious then why did it take them more than four-and-a-half years to raise the issue?”
On 24 September, former CM Harish Rawat had also objected to this move of the state government and said that it is an attempt to target a particular community.
Rawat said, “If the government takes appropriate steps for population control then no one will have any objection, but it is a serious matter if for political gains and with the help of state administration to target any community and specific areas. Such efforts are made,” Rawat said.
(Edited by Rachel John)
Read also: Uttarakhand’s Congress face Harish Rawat hints at withdrawing from CM’s race in 2022
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