The Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG) of retired senior civil servants has urged authorities to act fast to curb rising communal tension in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand.
The 101 signatories to the letter to Union home minister Amit Shah include former Delhi lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung; former chief economic adviser Nitin Desai; former secretary (RAW) A.S. Dulat; Sudhansu Mohanty, former financial adviser (defence services); Ruchira Mukerjee, former adviser (finance) to the telecom commission; Bengal’s former DGP (intelligence) A.K. Samanta and ex-chief secretary Ardhendu Sen; former Calcutta Metro general manager Geetha Thoopal; and former Punjab DGP Julio Ribeiro.
They highlighted an alleged hate speech in Dehradun on September 10 calling for a “dharma sansad” after several incidents of hate speeches and violence across the state in August. They also pointed out communal violence in Uttarkashi on October 24 and in Dehradun on September 27.
The signatories said: “In the vast majority of incidents, past and present, those responsible for false inflammatory allegations of 'love jihad', hate speech or property destruction have not even been detained.
"Even where a few arrests were made, most of those have been given bail, including the notorious repeat offender and the main organiser of the 2021 event (Haridwar Dharam Sansad), Yati Narsinghanand.”
Narsinghanand claimed last week that he was under “illegal house arrest” by the Uttar Pradesh police after incendiary remarks against minorities last month. Cops have denied his claims.
The CCG asked Shah to ensure “communally charged events such as the proposed mahapanchayat in Uttarkashi on November 4, 2024, and the proposed 'dharma sansad' in December 2024 are not permitted. Action should be taken against those attempting to use such events to foment hate and incite violence."
"The Uttarakhand police should be asked why they have failed to seek cancellation of bail in cases of violation of bail conditions, by Yati Narsinghanand and others. We feel Narsinghanand should be arrested under the National Security Act for his attempts to disrupt public order," it said.
The group also said that the Uttarakhand police should be asked to take strict action against all incidents of violence and hate speech, as per the law, the directions of the Supreme Court and constitutional propriety.
