The chief minister’s announcement to re-examine Uttarkashi mosque’s land papers has emboldened Hindutva groups, who have called a protest on Nov 25.
Team Clarion
DEHRADUN — Hindutva groups, seeking the removal of a mosque in Uttarkashi, have decided to hold a demonstration at the tehsil level on November 25 to press for their demand. The decision came after Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced that the papers of the land on which the mosque stands would be re-examined by the administration.
Dhami’s announcement came during his Uttarkashi visit on Wednesday, where he tried to assuage the feelings of the saffron brigade which was upset with the police lathi-charge and registration of cases against eight Hindutva leaders and 200 others for the October 24 violence.
The Hindutva groups had held a protest on that day reportedly wanting to demolish the mosque which they claimed was illegal, but the administration, after an inquiry, found it legal and registered with the Waqf Board since the 1980s.
As the Hindu mob proceeded toward the mosque, there were clashes with the police with the latter resorting to a lathi-charge in which several protestors and policemen were injured. The incident infuriated leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the saffron brigade took it as an affront to be checkmated by the administration.
During his visit, the chief minister harped on the much iterated but unfounded theories of ‘Land Jihad’, ‘Love Jihad’ and ‘Thook (spit) Jihad.’ He said all these would not be tolerated in ‘Devbhoomi’ Uttarakhand and also claimed that his government had freed 5,000 acres of “encroached” land in the state. He further said that the administration would re-examine the land papers of the Uttarkashi mosque and see if any illegality was committed.
Incidentally, a delegation of a Hindu organisation, led by district BJP chief Satinder Rana, had met the chief minister and complained against the police lathi-charge on October 24. In a bid to placate them, the state administration acted swiftly and as a scapegoat transferred Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Raza Abbas to the state headquarters in Dehradun. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Prashant Kumar, Uttarkashi, was also attached to the police headquarters in Dehradun with immediate effect.
Emboldened by the chief minister’s assurance, Anuj Walia, regional in-charge of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), alleged that the Uttarkashi mosque had been illegally built and was acting as a centre of ‘terrorists’. He also announced a ‘Mahapanchayat’ at Ramlila Ground in Uttarkashi on December 1.