In an Islamophobic social media post, Mahendra Bhatt, a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator of Uttarakhand, has said to people to be cautious while visiting barbershops and beauty parlors by Muslims which opened in the state today.
“The people should ensure that ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ is written in barbershops, targeting barbers belonging to the Muslims, Bhatt has advised the general public to go to the barbershops owned by Hindus.
A majority of the barbershops in the state even in Garhwal and Kumaon hills are owned by Muslims from neighboring western Uttar Pradesh, according to National Herald.
Bhatt had earlier in the month of April come up with an Islamophobic message to the people of the state to avoid coronavirus.
BJP MLA told the people of Uttarakhand not to buy vegetables from Najibabad and also to be careful of which shop they were buying it from.
Muslims have been targeted in different areas of the country following reports of an outbreak of COVID-19 at a religious gathering in New Delhi last month that was organized by the Tablighi Jamaat.
Many Indian right-wing media and influencers are using ‘Tablighi Jamaat’ incident a justification for Muslim boycott. The islamophobic approach was called out by civil rights groups and international societies, earning India sharp criticism for communalizing the pandemic.
“Keep one thing in mind. I am telling everyone openly. There is no need to buy vegetables from ‘miyans’ [Muslims],” BJP legislator Suresh Tiwari from Deoria town in Uttar Pradesh said earlier.
 legislator of Uttarakhand, has said to people to be cautious while visiting barbershops and beauty parlors by Muslims which opened in the state today.){kind=link}