Congress Leader Alleges Amit Shah’s Border Order On Border Demolitions Aimed At Triggering Polarization.

Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has accused the central government of playing politics of polarization after, criticizing the demolition of religious structures in the Barmer district. He added that social harmony in the border areas was significantly impacted by the government’s moves. The issue got heated up when on June 18, a Muslim religious centre in Malana village was demolished during a continuing campaign against unauthorized constructions within 15 km of the Indo-Pak border. The exercise comes after orders received by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and his inquiry related to violation of security and land-use in the border districts.

On Sunday, Gehlot stated in an allegation that the demolition drive is being disproportionately targeted at Muslim religious sites and is in the name of clearing encroachments. He said the attacks are meant to divide the people and upset the social order in the volatile border areas. It is important to note that the borderareas’ long term communal harmony has been reflected in the fact that Hindu members of the community have opposed demolitions in border areas, Gehlot said. He added that the action seems to be solely to foster political polarization and to upset social harmony. The problem has come as part of broader administration crackdown on border regions, such as the surveys ordered by the Ministry of Home Affairs for identifying unauthorized structures.

Senior security and administrative officials met with officials reportedly who then assessed districts bordering the international border. The demolition in Barmer has aroused political wrangling, with opposition leaders saying that religious sites were targeted selectively. Congress leaders also have had questions about the way the operation was conducted, saying they were not given proper notice or consulted before certain structures, such as mosques and shrines, were targeted for demolition.