DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday announced formation of a committee to prepare a draft of uniform civil code in the state if BJP returns to power.
“When the new BJP government would take oath, a committee which will include retired judges, noted civil society members, experts and others will be formed to prepare a draft of the uniform civil code to be implemented in Uttarakhand. The code will cover all aspects related to marriage, inheritance, divorce and other issues irrespective of religion,” said Dhami.
He said the UCC implementation would fulfill the dreams of Constitution-makers and bring about gender parity. “This will be an impactful step towards Article 44 that provides for UCC.”
The announcement comes amid a raging debate over the hijab row. Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal, responding to the announcement, advised the CM to get some legal advice and to not embarrass himself and his party.
The former Union minister tweeted: “Pushkar S Dhami, please don’t embarrass your party and yourself when you make announcements about implementing the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand if BJP comes to power. This shows your party is losing in Uttarakhand and that you need some legal advice.”
Political analysts say the CM’s statement would stoke another debate in other states in an attempt to garner majority voters. “This will create ripples beyond Uttarakhand as elections are on in four other states, where another debate will start now,” said Yogesh Kumar, a political analyst.
However, the Uttarakhand BJP supported the move. Manvir Singh Chauhan, media in charge of the state party unit said the announcement was well within the ambit of the Constitution. The BJP has always fulfilled its promises and will do it again in the case of uniform civil code.
Former CM and senior Congress leader Harish Rawat said the move reflected desperation in the BJP. “They have nothing to talk about in terms of development, unemployment and the real problems of the people,” he said.