Why is the UCC draft untraceable 3 months since it was termed ‘ready’, asks Uttarakhand Congress

Congress alleges BJP using UCC as poll plank in Uttarakhand; Oppn. warns of ghost of UCC near elections. Tribes, Muslims fear UCC, with Van Gujjars apprehensive of its impact. UCC Committee formed by govt. met 63 times, received 2.15 lakh submissions.

With over three months since retired Justice Ranjana Desai claimed that the draft for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand was being ‘printed’ and was all set to be submitted to the government, the Congress questioned the reason for the draft being untraceable. The Opposition also alleged that UCC was Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) poll plank and the ruling party only wanted to keep the pot simmering to polarise voters ahead of general elections.

Speaking on the UCC, senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat said that he had warned the Pushkar Singh Dhami government beforehand that UCC would not work for the innocent and peaceful people of the Himalayan State.

“Here, people live peacefully since ages. This government tried hard to divide people in the name of Mazar Jihad and Love Jihad but failed. They have realised long time back that UCC won’t help them so the matter has been shelved,” he said.

“We will again see the ghost of UCC with general elections nearing,” he added.

Uttarakhand, where Schedule Tribes (ST) make up 2.9% of the population, has only two seats reserved for the ST community; both seats have Congress members now.

Pritam Singh, one of the two ST MLAs of the State, alleged that the government was on the back foot as the tribal community in the State had not consented to the UCC, which he claimed the BJP was bringing to polarise the voters.

“In Chakrata, one of the biggest tribal-dominated areas, people have outrightly rejected the UCC. No one wants to change their customs for which they are known for. This has been the biggest set back for the BJP,” he added.