Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami Asserts Mandate for Uniform Civil Code Implementation

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reiterated the mandate given by the people of Uttarakhand to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). Speaking about the proposed legislation, Dhami emphasized that the UCC will not target any specific group or community. The implementation of the UCC was a key promise made by the BJP before the 2022 assembly polls, and the government had formed a five-member committee to draft the framework for the legislation after re-election.

Dhami, currently in the capital to meet Union ministers and party leaders, highlighted the significant public participation in the consultation process for the UCC. The government received an overwhelming response with 233,000 suggestions, reflecting 10% of the state’s population. Dhami acknowledged the awareness among the public about the UCC issue, and the consultation process involved public meetings in 43 places, starting from the first village along the border. A dedicated portal was set up to receive suggestions.

The draft of the UCC, comprising four volumes and totaling 740 pages, has been submitted to the Chief Minister and is set for discussion in the state assembly next week. Uttarakhand is the first state to initiate the implementation of the UCC, fulfilling a longstanding demand from the BJP’s ideological foundation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Responding to allegations from the Opposition that the UCC implementation is a tactic to polarize voters ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Dhami stated that such claims are baseless as the draft has not been made public yet and will be implemented after detailed discussions in the state assembly.

Regarding the possibility of other states like Gujarat or Assam adopting a similar UCC, Dhami expressed the expectation that other states would implement it as well. The draft suggests excluding Scheduled Tribes from the bill and setting 18 as the legal age for marriage for all faiths and communities.

While the committee received suggestions for recommending a population control policy, the government is likely to announce a new committee to address the population control issue separately. This aligns with the ideological concerns of the BJP and RSS. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in the interim budget presentation, announced the government’s plan to set up a committee to address challenges related to population growth comprehensively.