After the widespread protest erupted in Uttarakhand against the state government, following a recruitment exam paper leak, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami described the incident as ‘Nakal (cheating) Jihad’, giving it yet another Islamophobic term in the expanding list of slurs against minorities in India.

Dhami has already used Islamophobic terms in his anti-Muslim campaigns of ‘Love Jehad,’ ‘Land Jehad,’ ‘Mazar Jehad,’ ‘Thook Jehad,’ and now ‘Nakal Jehad,’ using them to target the Muslim community.

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At a training workshop for new party office bearers, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “To destroy the future of the youth, they gang up to conspire and leak the paper. The coaching mafia and cheating mafia come together to carry out nakal jihad in the state… to spread anarchy in the region. To those mafias and jihadis, I warn you: as long as the mafia is not destroyed, we will not rest.”

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami comes up with a new term called ‘Nakal Jihad’ or ‘Cheeting Jihad’. When you can’t control the state, come up with terms to blame others. 🤡pic.twitter.com/MLBB0y5NbC

— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) September 24, 2025

Congress leader Suryakant Dhasmana criticised the BJP government for hiding behind communalism and said that the government has failed to address the real miseries of the people.

CM Dhami’s comment has brought criticism from netizens who are alleging that the ruling government to spreading communal tension to avoid their failure. “Now they are searching for a muslim thief in the cheating or paper leak. They could not do it, NEET June 2024 scam also” one user wrote on social media ‘X’.

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Another user wrote, “When unemployment rises, youth migrate and disasters expose poor governance, the leader finds refuge in divisive coinages instead of real solutions. Empty slogans won’t hide failures. A CM who escapes accountability by inventing enemies is the state’s biggest burden”.

While one user cited the blame game in the government inefficiency and said, “When governance fails, some leaders invent terms like “Nakal Jihad” to shift blame. Deflection over action”.

उत्तराखंड का युवा अब जाति-धर्म की राजनीति से आगे बढ़ चुका है,
अब सवाल रोजगार और भविष्य का है, सत्ता को यह हिसाब देना ही पड़ेगा।

पहाड़ गूँज उठे है,
अबकी बार मुद्दों की लड़ाई होगी, धर्म का बहाना बेचने वालों की हार तय होगी।#Uttarakhand #paperleak pic.twitter.com/XnYEPr5VWb

— Gautam Nautiyal (@Gnukpcc) September 25, 2025