Days before Uttarakhand rolls out its Uniform Civil Code, becoming the first state in the country to do so, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the idea is not to target any person or community. In an interview, he also added that the state will not spare any effort to identify and act against illegal immigrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh. Edited excerpts:
The Uttarakhand assembly has approved the Uniform Civil Code rules. By when will the common code be implemented? Do you have a date in mind?
It will be done at the earliest… within this month. UCC was a promise that the BJP had made to the people of Uttarakhand when we contested the assembly polls (in 2022) under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We had promised we would frame the laws when our government was formed.
We had also explained why we need UCC in Uttarakhand. It is a Dev Bhoomi (land of Gods), it is the land of Ganga, Yamuna, the four Dhams (holy places), and the Adi Kailash. The state also shares an international boundary with two countries (in the northwest with China and in the east with Nepal). Every family has someone or the other serving in the armed forces.
For the people of this state, no matter which community, religion or faith they are from, there should be a uniform set of laws. And for that, we followed a procedure laid down in the Constitution. A committee was set up to prepare the draft, then a bill was made, which got the consent of the assembly and the President .
The UCC has kept Scheduled Tribes (ST) out of the ambit of the common laws applicable to the others. The Opposition and minority groups allege this is appeasement of a certain group.
When we went to the ST communities for an interaction on the code, they said they are willing to be part of the law but it would be good if the government could give them some more time. That apart, the Constitution of India gives them privileges, they have a vishesh adhikar (special rights)… we have done everything as per the Constitution. In the future if they want to be included, they will also be brought under the ambit of the UCC.
There is no question of targeting anyone. We have made a uniform arrangement for all. Going forward we will ensure that women, who make up for 50% of the population are given more rights and protection. This law is oriented towards that.
Other than the UCC, Muslim groups such as the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind are opposed to the government’s plans for Madrasa modernisation.
We have not framed any policy to target anyone. In our state everyone lives in amity. So, whenever we do something, we talk to people. We did have information that in some Madrasas there were some suspicious elements, some Bangladeshis and Rohingyas…such things should not be allowed in the Dev Bhoomi at any cost. We have issued instructions to the authorities to carry out investigations and if they find anything, to take action.
You also recently referred to the government’s crackdown on encroachments, terming it land jihad and said thousands of acres of land have been reclaimed.
In many places, we found structures erected on government land. In some places there were mazaars (Muslim shrines) that had come up on government-owned land, which was essentially encroachment. When we realised that thousands of acres of government land was encroached upon, we decided to run a campaign. Notices were sent and some people vacated on their own; those who did not were removed by the administration. This was not to target anyone, just to remove encroachments.
Local body elections just concluded in your state, but the Opposition has alleged that many names were deleted from the voters list.
I have also heard about the names not being on the list… but what happens is that voters in the urban areas vote there, but they cannot vote for their gram sabhas because their names are not on that list. I did not vote in my gram sabha, since my name is on the list in my village, not in Dehradun. It is also incumbent on people who want to vote to check the voter list to see if their names are there or not. The Election Commission prepares the list and makes it public, people need to be aware too.
You have been campaigning in Delhi for the upcoming elections. What makes you confident of BJP being able to script a comeback after 27 years?
In the last five years, no work has been done (by the Aam Aadmi Party). They (AAP) promised quality health care through Mohalla Clinics, but that did not happen. There was a massive liquor scam, several ministers, including the deputy CM and the CM went to jail. Liquor shops have been opened in front of temples.
I have visited five areas so far. In Karawal Nagar, I noticed a strange stench and when I asked people about it, I was told there is an open drain here that the state government has done nothing about. People do not have potable water . Look at Yamunaji (River Yamuna), see how polluted it is. The water that comes from Uttarakhand is like elixir, here it is so polluted that one cannot even bathe in it. They had promised they would make Delhi pollution free… you live here so you know how that has not happened.
They made promises of providing jobs that have not happened, so now people want a change. The response from the people on the ground is good.
Secondly, I feel people are now repeatedly giving a chance to double-engine sarkar (a reference to BJP being in power in the state and in the centre). Look at how poor people in Delhi are being deprived of quality health care under the Ayushman Yojna, because the government here has not allowed its implementation.
