BJP MLA Asha Nautiyal has firmly aligned herself with the Hindutva agenda through her recent remarks demanding a ban on non-Hindus from entering Kedarnath and the entire Char Dham Yatra circuit.

On the record with PTI, Nautiyal said, “People from across the world go to worship Baba Kedar, so those people [non-Hindus] should be banned from going there,” citing alleged concerns from locals and businessmen who claimed that non-Hindus were hurting the sentiments of Hindu pilgrims. She insisted it was her responsibility as an elected representative to ensure that devotees return from Char Dham “with the same faith they arrive with.”

Her statement, made just weeks before the Kedarnath shrine was scheduled to open on May 2, 2025, has been widely criticized as an attempt to deepen religious fault lines in a region revered as devbhoomi. Congress leaders were quick to condemn the remarks. Party vice president Suryakant Dhasmana accused the BJP of weaponizing religion, stating that such communal provocations were part of a national strategy to distract from issues like unemployment and inflation. Former CM Harish Rawat asked pointedly, “How long will you keep attaching everything to religion?”

Despite the backlash, Nautiyal received full backing from her party. BJP Uttarakhand media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan said the party supported her call, saying it reflected the sentiments of Hindus. He went further to claim that the sale of meat and liquor near the temples, an old Hindutva talking point, was another reason why such restrictions were needed.