Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami has warned that the state would not tolerate “land jihad.”
He said that any form of activity that involves the forced conversion of land ownership would not be accepted in Uttarakhand.
During a public gathering in Kaladhungi, in the Nainital district, Chief Minister Dhami declared that his administration will take action against illegally constructed structures, including Khanqahs, throughout Uttarakhand.
He stated that over 1,000 such sites have been identified by the government for demolition, reported Muslim Mirror
Dhami announced that his government will demolish all illegal constructions, including Khanqahs and other structures, and has already pinpointed more than 1,000 such sites in Uttarakhand.
“There are over 1,000 locations in this state where dargahs have been constructed without any remains found under them,” said Dhami.
“We are not targeting anyone specifically, but we will not permit forcible occupation anywhere in Uttarakhand. We will not allow land jihad to take place anywhere,” he added.
Dhami highlighted that in the past two years, the state government has been firm in addressing encroachments on government land. He reiterated that the BJP government has no intention of causing harm to any group, but at the same time, it will not allow any community to receive preferential treatment.
“We believe in upholding the law and will not take any action that may cause harm to anyone. However, we will not permit any form of appeasement of any community, and we will work diligently to prevent it,” stated Dhami.
Dhami mentioned that Uttarakhand has implemented a more stringent law to prevent forced conversions in the state.
Additionally, a committee has been established to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The state assembly has recently passed an amendment bill to make the anti-conversion law in the state more severe. The revised law includes stricter punishments for forced conversions and religious conversions involving two or more individuals, which are classified as “mass conversion.”
In December of last year, forest officials launched a crackdown on illegal religious structures and dismantled 15 Khanqahs in the Dehradun forest division.
Senior forest officials stated that the department’s survey had identified roughly 293 religious structures built in protected forests across the state.