Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has defended the mandatory registration of live-in relationships, one of the state’s Uniform Civil Code (UCC) provisions that have been drawing a lot of flak, saying it is “only for the couples’ security” and “does not invade anyone’s privacy”.
In an interview with ThePrint, Dhami said, “…at times, couples live together, and after a while, the relationship turns sour, and many times anhoni ho jaati hai (untoward incidents happen). Sometimes bodies are found in suitcases…murders happen…court cases happen… Something bad happens when a relationship turns sour.”
“When any untoward incident happens, the parents do not have anything left apart from regret and tears. The lives of these youngsters are our priority; their security and safety are our priority,” he said.
“The parents do have the right to, at least, know whether their children are safe. Those who have given birth — they, at least, have the right to know where their children are and if they are safe. We are not invading anyone’s privacy,” he added.
According to the UCC, it is “obligatory for partners in a live-in relationship within the state, whether they are residents of Uttarakhand or not, to submit a statement of (the) live-in relationship” to the registrar under whose jurisdiction they reside.
Dhami also told ThePrint that he has now asked BJP state president Mahendra Bhatt to fix the “criteria” for workers joining the BJP from other parties to ensure the cadre does not get “demoralised”.
The CM shared his views on several other issues — from the need for UCC implementation to removal of encroachments.
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‘More than 14,000 joined Uttarakhand BJP’
With the Lok Sabha elections around the corner, the BJP has said that thousands of workers and leaders are joining the party. In Madhya Pradesh, more than 16,000 workers from the Congress joined the party, according to the BJP.
Dhami said that “more than 14,000 workers and leaders” have joined the BJP in Uttarakhand. “But I have now requested our state president that whoever joins now, there should be criteria in place for it. He has accepted my request, and I think the speed at which new people are joining will reduce a little,” he said.
However, he also said that scores of people from other parties are joining the BJP because they know that the Congress has no future and the country is moving forward under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A senior party leader said, “To ensure our own cadre does not get demoralised, we need to ensure only those committed to the cause and our ideology get inducted to the BJP. Many states are now working on devising a system.”
Dhami also stressed the need for implementing the UCC, which the BJP has been saying for a while. Modi has mentioned the UCC in his speeches at election rallies.
In February, the Uttarakhand assembly passed the UCC, which subsequently received Presidential assent. The government is now preparing the rules. It has formed a rules and implementation committee.
Dhami said the UCC did not target anyone, but the Opposition has been trying to politicise the issue.
“UCC has always been our agenda. It was the good fortune of the people of Uttarakhand that we got a chance to implement it. We said before the elections that if our government comes to power, we will implement UCC,” said Dhami.
“We got the mandate from the people, and we have done this within the ambit of the Constitution, and even B.R. Ambedkar had this in his mind, that UCC should be there in the country. We have respected his feelings. No one is being targeted. We will implement it soon,” he added.
“Those trying to create unrest and division in society will not be spared, but law-abiding citizens in Uttarakhand need not fear,” he added.
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‘No community has been targeted’
Dhami also said the UCC would benefit Muslim women as people would face imprisonment and fines for “evil practices like iddat, halala“.
Asked about government action to remove encroachments, Dhami said no community has been targeted. About the action on mazars or Muslim shrines, Dhami said Uttarakhand is devbhoomi (land of the gods), with steps taken to maintain the original form of the devbhoomi.
On 8 February, a mosque and a madrasa were demolished in Haldwani, with the authorities saying they were illegal structures. The area’s residents consequently clashed with the police, and the violence left six people dead and over 100 injured.
On this, Dhami said: “We have merely removed illegal encroachments from public land. The land in question in the Haldwani violence belonged to the government. Some elements tried to create unrest, but they were unsuccessful in Haldwani. We have introduced a law under which, for any property damaged, the recovery will be from that person (responsible).”
“Earlier, there was only vote bank politics and politics of appeasement, leaving behind national interest, but we have managed to free 4,000 acres of government land. Encroachment and illegal occupation is a big conspiracy, and we have taken many steps to ensure that there is no encroachment,” he said.
The chief minister expressed confidence about winning the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The BJP, he said, would win all five seats in the state at a “greater” margin than earlier, and would once again form the government at the Centre.
“People have made up their mind to elect PM Modi as the prime minister once again. There is no challenge from the opposition and the INDIA bloc, where everyone wants to become a dulha (‘bridegroom’, referring to the PM’s post), but no one wants to work for it,” he said.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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