Uttarakhand CM says he will 'not allow land jihad' in the state

Encroachments in the name of 'land jihad' will not be allowed to vitiate the atmosphere of Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Friday, amid an ongoing statewide drive to remove illegally built structures from government land.

Addressing the concluding session of the two-day meeting of the Vishva Hindu Parishad's (VHP) Kendriya Margadarshak Mandal in Haridwar, Dhami said, "Uttarakhand shares its borders with two countries (China and Nepal). A particular community had illegally encroached land and raised structures in the border areas of the state which are being removed as part of a drive."

"Illegal encroachments in the name of land jihad will not be allowed to vitiate the atmosphere in Uttarakhand", Dhami said.

He said the state government has already appealed to encroachers to remove such structures on their own or the administration will demolish them.

Last month, Dhami warned occupiers of illegally built mazars (tombs) to remove those on their own and reiterated that his government would not allow 'land jihad' in the state.

Under a conspiracy, thousands of shrines have been built illegally on public and forest land without permission, he had said.

"Not a single illegally built religious structure will be allowed to remain standing in the state. All illegal structures will be completely demolished," Dhami said on Friday.

He said Uttarakhand will be the first state to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

"The committee constituted to prepare a draft of the UCC has done 90 per cent of its job and will submit its report to the state government by June 30," he said.

The UCC will be implemented after being examined, he said, adding that it will apply to people of all religions and communities. Uttarakhand's UCC will become a model for the entire country, Dhami said.

The two-day meeting debated a range of issues including conversion, land jihad, same-sex marriages and live-in relationships.

Dhami took the blessings of over 250 seers participating in the meeting.

During the meeting, the VHP decided that, shortly before Diwali, it will launch a nationwide public awareness campaign against illegal religious conversion.

Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad president Mahant Ravindra Puri welcomed the state government's action against illegal encroachments but appealed to the chief minister not to demolish temples which are more than 50 years old even if they have encroached upon government land.

They should be given on lease to the trust managing the temples while areas reserved for Bairagi seers should also be given on lease to Bairagi Akharas, Puri suggested.

Swami Yatindra Nand Giri, who was present at the meeting, demanded stern action against a man who was arrested for running a dhaba in Har ki Pairi area allegedly after assuming a fake Hindu identity.