NEW DELHI: Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami has rejected Congress’s criticism that the state cabinet’s decision Monday to approve rules for implementation of Uniform Civil Code was violative of the model code of conduct currently in force because of local body polls and said he would soon come out with the date of implementation.
“UCC for Uttarakhand has been a work in progress since we promised it in our manifesto in 2022. Our commitment is absolute. Our first task was to draft it. It has since received the President’s assent. We are in the final stages of training our employees and will soon announce the implementation date,” Dhami told TOI.
Congress has complained to EC about the state cabinet’s decision. The confrontation can only sharpen the fight between Congress and BJP in local body polls. Dhami has plunged himself headlong into the battle in what appears to be a gambit.
BJP circles see it as a well-calculated one and reflective of the CM’s confidence that his image as a “doer” and his accessibility will work to the party’s advantage. BJP had won all five Lok Sabha seats in June 2024. While the third consecutive sweep of LS polls is unanimously attributed to PM Modi’s enduring popularity in the hills, many in the party feel Dhami’s toil was an important factor in the win in the bypoll for the Kedarnath seat.
It was a tough contest and a defeat, coming after the party’s loss of Faizabad LS seat under which Ayodhya comes, would have compounded the embarrassment. It would have been a personal setback also for the CM.
On whether approval of rules during the campaign was meant to insert UCC as an issue in elections, Dhami said, “It has been an issue since we put it on the manifesto, resulting in Uttarakhand becoming the first state after Goa to have a UCC.”
He said Congress’s opposition was motivated by vote bank considerations. “Opposition has worked to disrupt the state’s demographic balance. Our double-engine govt is committed to preserving Devbhoomi’s rich culture and traditions,” he said.
