Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, in an exclusive interview, explains how his government’s move to usher in UCC is in concord with Constitutional guarantees, as are many of the stringent laws that have come out during the BJP rule in the State.
The Bharatiya Janata Party won all five Parliamentary constituencies in Uttarakhand in the last two terms; do you think the party will have a clean sweep this time as well, amid the anti-incumbency challenge?
I just want to clear one thing: this election is not for the election of a particular MP but to elect the Prime Minister; and there is no doubt that the country wants to see Modi ji return as PM once again.
Modi ne kaha hai abki baar 400 paar. Maine dekha hai jo Modi ji kehte hain wo desh ki janta kar deti hai. [Mr. Modi has given a slogan of crossing 400 seats in this Lok Sabha election. I believe the people of this country do whatever the PM asks of them.]
The only thing I keep telling people is that they must not get complacent thinking that PM Modi is winning anyway and hence they don’t need to vote. Everyone must go to vote and ensure a landslide victory for Modi ji.
Of course we are winning all five seats. If you travel in Uttarakhand, you will find people celebrating the electoral process as if a festival were underway.
You had promised to bring Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the Assembly election in 2022 and within first two years, the UCC is implemented. Why do you think a small State like Uttarakhand needed UCC?
After Independence, UCC has been one of the very first resolutions passed by the BJP. Even when Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar was framing the Constitution of India, he made a provision of UCC under article 44 [of the Directive Principle of State Policy]. During the Assembly election in 2022, we assured people of bringing in the UCC, and they honoured us with a huge mandate; this shows expressly that the people of Uttarakhand wanted UCC in law. There was a myth perpetuated in Uttarakhand: that no party repeats government in the State. But we broke that myth. History was made when the BJP won a second consecutive term. So, as promised, we made history once more by bringing in UCC.
When you talk about UCC, how is it that the State has kept the tribal populations out of the code’s ambit?
It is not that we have chosen to keep tribals out of the UCC ambit but rather the Constitution of India which has granted a special status to this population. We can’t go against the Constitution. When our committee met tribals, living in interior areas, to discuss their issues and apprehensions, they had said that they don’t have any problem in accepting UCC but requested if they can be given some time.
So you are saying that UCC can include tribals as well, given time?
I am saying that our first priority is to find ways to make amendments in the Act, which was formed by our committee and passed by the Assembly. Once the Act falls into place, the apprehensions and doubts of people will be cleared.
The UCC in Uttarakhand says mandatory registration for live-in couples which was widely criticised. How will you ensure their safety from social moral policing and self-righteous organisations?
We do not aim to breach anyone’s privacy. We have, in fact, brought in the code for their own security. In relationships, initially things look good until they sometimes turn sour. In some case this concludes in untoward incidents. At times the relationships conclude in cases of domestic violence but there are occasions when such relationship have ended up in murder.
When such incidents happen, the worst affected parties are the parents. They strive to give the best upbringing to their children, and in such events, hundreds of their questions remain unanswered. This is why we strongly feel that parents have the right to know who their son or daughter is living with. The aim is not to look inside anyone’s bedrooms but to ensure everyone’s security.
An interesting part of the UCC is that it not only ensures women’s security, it makes certain that men remain safe as well. We keep hearing of instances where people levy allegations on each other when the relationship goes awry. This will stop now given that we already know that they were in a live-in relationship.
PM Modi and you both speak about Uttarakhand being a ‘Devbhoomi’ or ‘Land of the Gods’. And yet, we keep seeing the abysmal state of development in the interior hills. It is common to see pregnant women being taken to hospitals for delivery on shoulders. When will the benefits of development reach down to the interior hills?
Life in the hills is not easy and that is just a fact. Although the hospitals, schools, and general development are reaching the hills there continue to be challenges. Such videos do come across our way but it does not mean that development is not happening but this means that more work is needed to be done in the hills. We are committed to do the same. We are also launching helicopter ambulances to ensure healthcare reaches everyone and on time. The same got stuck due to the Model Code of Conduct.
Also, migration used to be an issue but now you will see that reverse-migration is happening in the State. We are seeing that people from metros are turning towards Uttarakhand, buying land here and getting settled. This trend was at such peak that we had to stop the selling of agricultural lands here.
You have brought some stringent laws like property damage recovery law, UCC, anti-encroachment drive in which hundreds of religious structures were demolished. You are vocal on terms like ‘love jihad’ and ‘land jihad’. All this is being seen as an attack on a particular community. What do you have to say on this?
We have also brought strict laws against cheating which was destroying future of the youngsters in Uttarakhand. We have also brought rules to save purchase of land in the State to save the rights of people. We have also organised the biggest investors summit in which investments worth 3.5 lakh crores was gained both from India and abroad. The anti-encroachment drive freed 2,400 acres of forest land. No one talks about all this.
We are people who follow the Constitution. We follow rules. Those who abide by rules and regulations will never say that encroachment is a right thing, that cheating is a good, that conversion of people through inducement is good, or that rioting is ethical. Anyone who abides by the law will never say that damaging public or government property is a good deed. So how is come putting a check on activities which no one consider ethical, suddenly become the ‘targeting’ of a particular community?
Those who believe in Constitution of India will never see anything wrong in whatever we are doing.
You think there was intelligence failure in Haldwani violence?
Haldwani incident was a pre-planned act to attack the government and disturb the peace and harmony of the State. Police was aware of tension in the area but what one can do when 5,000-7,000 people come together and attack. Police went there to free encroachment. Now we are building a police station there followed by a park for children.
We see that Uttarakhand takes action on incidents very quickly, such as the arrests made in the Ankita Bhandari murder case, the apprehensions done in cheating cases, and even the arrest of the perpetrators of the Haldwani violence. But then the court cases for the same move at a snail’s pace. Why is this so?
When cheating cases increased, we brought anti-cheating law. When riots happened, we brought property damage recovery law. The government is not taking anything casually.
After arrests, the cases move to courts. Now the courts will decide the matter and punish the guilty. We have done all that administration, police, and governments need to do in Ankita Bhandari case. We have given ₹25 lakhs to family as help. Chargesheet is filed. There is nothing left for us to do. It is up to the courts now.
