‘Hurting Hindu sentiments’: Kedarnath MLA demands ban on non-Hindus from temple region

Kedarnath MLA Asha Nautiyal on Sunday demanded a ban on non-Hindus from the region, alleging that they "are doing activities which are hurting the sentiments of Hindu pilgrims".

She said that if anyone tries to "malign the image of Kedarnath Dham, then the entry of such people should be banned", adding that such people are "definitely" non-Hindus.

‘Demand entry of such people be banned’

Nautiyal told news agency ANI that such people come to the Kedarnath Dham and indulge in activities which defame the pilgrimage site. "We need to look into it because if such an issue has been raised, then there must be something to it... We will demand that the entry of such people be banned," she added.

The Kedarnath MLA further said that since she holds the position of a legislator, "she has the responsibility to raise it".

Nautiyal's demand to ban non-Hindus from the Dham was supported by several saints from Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya, saying that the site is exclusively a pilgrimage site for Hindus.

BJP media-in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan also told The Indian Express that the saffron party "backs her (Asha Nautiyal's) statement because it is about the sentiments of Hinduism. These four pilgrimages are important in Sanatan Dharma and people take this pilgrimage in lakhs every year."

He also said that businessmen of the region have also alleged that liquor and meat was being sold in Kedarnath, adding that it is "wrong to conduct such businesses in this holy abode. There are liquor shops as well in the guise of other businesses".

Former Uttarakhand chief minister and Congress leader Harish Rawat slammed Nautiyal's comments, describing it as a "habit of BJP leaders to make sensational remarks".

"Uttarakhand is a 'devbhoomi' and how long will you attach everything with religion? They are doing this because they don't have anything to tell people," he told news agency PTI.

Rawat noted that such issues had also been raised during the floods. He said that when he was the chief minister, he had taken appropriate action. "If something like that (improper activities), then action should be taken without creating an uproar. She (Nautiyal) should ask her CM," he added. However, the Congress leader said that this is not a CM-level issue, suggesting that the District Magistrate (DM) and the SSP can look into it.