Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami in ‘Aap Ki Adalat’.
New Delhi: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has promised that live-in couples living in the state will not be “unduly harassed” by the police and administration for not complying with the new Uniform Civil Code Bill.
‘We have formed a committee’
Answering questions on India TV Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma’s show ‘Aap Ki Adalat’, Dhami said, ‘I want to tell people that our government has taken a decision to make rules immediately after the UCC Bill was passed. A committee has been formed so that no one from the police and administration can misuse its provisions. The rules will ensure that people (live-in couples) are not unduly harassed, and there is no ill-treatment or excess against them. They should not be put under unnecessary pressure and should not be harassed. It is our responsibility that the implementation of this law should be a model for everyone in the times to come. ‘Aap Ki Adalat’ is telecasted on Saturday night at 10 pm and is re-telecasted on Sunday morning at 10 am.
Live-in couples will have to be registered
A 9-member committee, headed by a former chief secretary, has been constituted last week to draft rules related to easy implementation of the provisions of the UCC Act, and its procedures and designation of competent level officers. Uttarakhand is the first state in India to enact a Uniform Civil Code law which also includes live-in relationships. Under this, it will be mandatory for live-in couples to register and its record will be kept in the police station. There is also a provision for a jail sentence of up to 6 months for not presenting the certificate of live-in relationship.
Responding to Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s comment that the Uttarakhand government was invading people’s privacy by ‘peeping into their bedrooms’ and acting like a ‘nanny state’, the Chief Minister said, ‘Whatever provisions Whatever has been done has not been done for the convenience of Shashi Tharoor ji. This has been done for the safety of our sons and daughters so that their parents can know how their children live. You saw how pieces of the dead body were found in a suitcase in Goa. Children born during live-in marriage are not taken care of and do not get any share in the property. We have made the provision of registration for security.
‘Love goes wrong after 5-10 years’
Dhami said, ‘Our aim is not to trouble anyone, but at least the children should be safe. Today there is love, after 5-10 years love goes wrong. After that they start blaming each other. When Rajat Sharma asked why there was a provision for live-in couples to inform the police upon separation, Pushkar Singh Dhami replied: ‘No, they will not have to register infidelity. They just need to inform us that we do not live together. This law has not been made to target anyone.
Dhami said, ‘The government has made this law by becoming a guardian so that their future is safe. If they have children while living together, then it has also worried about the future of those children. If they want to stay, let them stay, but their parents should be informed. Imagine what their parents go through when something unfortunate happens. Talking on ‘Love Jihad’, the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand said, ‘Things like love jihad are very bad. Such incidents are not at all acceptable in Uttarakhand. There is no place for this in Devbhoomi. Devbhoomi should remain sacred.
‘Religious beliefs have not been tampered with’
Asked about the objections raised by Muslim religious leaders that the UCC law is against Sharia and Islamic injunctions, Dhami said, ‘There has been no tampering with the beliefs that are followed in the religion. As far as weddings are concerned, no changes have been made in them. Muslims can perform Nikah, Christians can perform marriage as per their own rules, Hindus can take seven rounds and Sikhs can follow Anand Karaj.
Dhami said that BJP had promised to bring Uniform Civil Code law in its manifesto during the 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly elections. He said, ‘UCC was our resolution. Modi ji’s resolution is ‘One India, Best India’. Uttarakhand is Devbhoomi. Uttarakhand is the state of Ganga and Yamuna. It is the land of sages and saints. Article 44 of the Constitution clearly provides for bringing a uniform civil code for all. The people of Uttarakhand blessed us on this. We fulfilled the promise made to the public.
Dhami said, ‘Divorce and polygamy system will end in UCC law. We do not want to allow oppression of mother power. Now Shariat will not work in the country. Uniform Civil Code will apply. Those who believe in the Constitution will benefit and will get rid of evils like Halala. The Chief Minister said he met Muslim women in Haridwar who appreciated the UCC law and told them that they have been freed from a major curse. CM Dhami said, ‘Muslim women told me that their self-esteem, which was falling, has come back.’
‘If Hindutva is not there in Uttarakhand, then where else will it be?’
When asked by Rajat Sharma whether Uttarakhand was being made a laboratory of Hindutva, Dhami replied, ‘There is no such thing as a laboratory. The people of Uttarakhand have given us the mandate. If Hindutva does not exist in Uttarakhand, then where else will it exist? On the recent communal violence in Haldwani, the Chief Minister said, ‘Who can legitimize the encroachment, illegal encroachment and encroachment of government lands in Uttarakhand? We are continuously removing encroachments. In Uttarakhand, tombs were built on forest land, revenue land, irrigation department and PWD land. When the tombs were excavated, no remains were found in them. That’s why we called it land jihad.
Dhami said: ‘We will not allow any change in the ‘original form’ of our Devbhoomi. If the mosque is built at the wrong place, it will be considered an encroachment and will be removed. The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand also said that ‘We will not allow the demography of Devbhoomi to change at any cost, we will not allow it to be affected.’
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