Rawat was speaking at the VHP kendriya margdarshak mandal in Haridwar. Top VHP leaders and saints attended the meeting and discussed the issue of “love jihad” at length.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Friday said that he was concerned about the prevalence of “love jihad” in the state, adding that he was going to take steps to stop the same.
Rawat was speaking at the VHP kendriya margdarshak mandal in Haridwar. Top VHP leaders and saints attended the meeting and discussed the issue of “love jihad” at length.
Revealing that he had recently held a meeting with police officials on the issue, Rawat said the state has fewer cases of “love jihad” as the state is “devbhumi” (land of the gods) and has the blessings of saints. “Hence it (love jihad) is not much here but it prevails. I have expressed my concerns about it. I had a meeting four days back and took a report of all the districts… I am concerned and certainly I am going to take some steps into this,” Rawat said.
Presenting a resolution, Ramchandra Das from Chitrakoot termed “love jihad” a conspiracy. Giving an example of a woman officer, he said if highly educated women can be cheated, then the saint fraternity should be concerned about ordinary people.
He also claimed that certain web series on OTT platforms were conspiring against religious places and saints.
Ramchandra Das also sought support for Yati Narsimhanand, the controversial priest of Dasna temple in Ghaziabad which was in the news after a 14-year-old Muslim boy was assaulted for entering the temple to drink water.
At the meeting, the VHP also passed a resolution demanding that the Centre and state governments free Hindu temples and shrines from their direct control. On the issue of Char Dham Devasthanam Board Bill of Uttarakhand, under which all shrines in the state have been brought under the state government, saint Ravindrapuri said he had warned former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat that if the law was not withdrawn, he will not continue as CM. Subsequently, the saints at the meet demanded Tirath Singh Rawat announce the withdrawal of the law.
The CM said he will review the law and “will not disappoint” the saints on the issue.
The VHP leaders also demanded that the government declare the Ram Setu a national heritage.
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