Govt will run check on those coming for Char Dham Yatra: Uttarakhand CM
FOLLOWING RECENT demands by some religious leaders that non-Hindus be barred from the Char Dham area to preserve the culture of the Himalayan region, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday said that those coming to the state on Char Dham Yatra will have to undergo proper verification so that those who may pose a threat to peace are kept out.
Asked about the demands of a ban on the entry of non-Hindus in the Char Dham area, Dhami told reporters that the state should be in peace and its dharma and culture preserved.
“For that the government will run a drive…. We will try that those who are arriving in the state are properly verified. Anyone who may pose a threat to peace should not enter the state…,” the Chief Minister said. “Our state is a peaceful state and a centre of dharma and culture. There is no place for encroachment or occupying government land here. Those doing riots, creating enmity or spreading hate in the name of religion also do not have any place here.”
On the violence and stone-pelting during Hanuman Jayanti celebration in Haridwar on Saturday night, he said a proper investigation will be conducted and the law will take its course strictly.
Earlier this week, Swami Anand Swaroop, a Haridwar-based religious leader and one of the main speakers at the controversial Dharma Sansad in the temple town last December, sent a letter to the Chief Minister, demanding a ban on entry of non-Hindus to the Char Dham shrines — Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. He alleged that non-Hindus were entering the region, setting up their businesses here and causing crime and anarchy.
He claimed that recent instances of violence during religious processions in parts of the country showed that the Char Dham pilgrimage should be kept out of bounds for those who “do not believe in Hinduism”. He also claimed that till 1980 there were no churches or mosques in the region whereas they are in large number of them now.
Later talking to The Indian Express, he said that in case the government fails to make a law in this regard or take proper steps to put a stop on the encroachment by non-Hindus, his Kali Sena will take matter in its own hands.
