BJP resorts to UCC, time tested anti-Muslim rhetoric in the Uttarakhand civic polls, Congress objects  

BJP resorts to UCC, time tested anti-Muslim rhetoric in the Uttarakhand civic polls, Congress objects
S.M.A.KAZMI
Dehradun, Jan 20
The civic issues concerning the urban population ideally should be the primary issue in the civic elections but in the civic elections of Uttarakhand, implementation of Uniform Civil Code (UCC), a proposed law that brings a single set of personal laws for all citizens, regardless of their religion in the matters of marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance, and maintenance, is being touted as the main election issue by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its’ Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
The Dhami cabinet today passed the rules and regulations for the proposed UCC Act which awaits implementation in Uttarakhand to become the first state in the country to implement such a law as per the agenda of the BJP/Sangh Parivar in the country. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced to implement the UCC by January 26, 2025. The civic elections for urban civic bodies in the state would be held on January 23 and results would be announced on January 25, 2025.
The main opposition Congress has opposed the cabinet decision and termed it as violation of model code of coduct for the polls. A delegation of the Congress party led by senior leader Dhirendra Pratap met the State Election Commissioner Sushil Kumar and submitted a memorandum seeking action.
Interestingly, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami who is the star campaigner for the party in the civic elections across the state has made implementation of UCC as the main poll plank for the civic polls and has peppered his election speeches with time tested and rewarding strategy of his party of anti-Muslim rhetoric of ‘Love Jehad’, ‘Land Jehad’ and ‘Thook Jehad’.
Since, he took over as Chief Minister in 2021 there has been consistent anti-Muslim campaigns under his leadership in the shape of ‘Love Jehad’, ‘Land Jehad’, ‘Mazar Jehad” and ‘Thook Jehad’ and minority Muslim community had been targeted on various pretexts throughout the state before and after Lok Sabha 2024 elections and even made to flee from some places in Garhwal hills in 2024. Similar, anti-Muslim rhetoric had paid political dividends to Dhami during the 2022 state assembly polls which the ruling BJP had fought with their back to the wall.
After losing two bye-elections of Badrinath and Mangalore in the summer of 2024, BJP infused its’ time tested strategy of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the Kedarnath bypoll held in November, 2024 and fielded a prominent hate monger Darshan Bharati, to target few Muslim shopkeepers in the assembly segment. At that time , Indresh Maikhuri, state Secretary of CPI(ML) in a communication to Chief Election Commissioner, New Delhi and other senior officers including Chief Electoral Officer, Uttarakhand, DGP, District Magistrate, Rudraprayag and District police chief had shared a video in which Darshan Bharati was seen threatening Muslims.
Indresh Maikhuri wrote that a hate campaign was being carried out by certain communal elements against the business establishments of minorities in the Kedarnath assembly constituency. He pointed out that on 14th November 2024, at places like Agastyamuni and Bhiri, Darshan Bharti alongwith his few supporters misbehaved with Muslim shopkeepers, abused them openly, threatened them to change the names of their establishments. But to no avail. The ruling BJP won the Kedarnath bypoll much to the relief of Chief Minister Dhami.
During the ongoing Civil election campaign, Chief Minister Dhami and senior BJP leaders are charging opposition Congress of allowing ‘Jehadis’ to settle in ‘DevBhoomi’ Uttarakhand without any concrete evidence and proof as part of ‘hate mongering’ against Muslims. He vowed that he would not allow any change in the demography of sacred ‘Devbhoomi’. Last week, Chief Minster again directed the state police to check illegal Madrassas. Interestingly,BJP is in power in the state since 2017 and this exercise had been carried out many times n the past.
On January 20, there was an incident in which carcass of a animal was found in Majra area of Dehradun and Hindutva outfits created as ruckus holding the traffic in the area for hours before being pacified by the police on the assurance of ‘action’. Interestingly, hours later, two alleged Muslim cow smugglers from Saharanpur were shot in their legs by the Uttarakhand police and arrested.
Congress spokesperson Garima Dasuani took the BJP to task on the issue and charged them of ‘Vote Bank’ politics. She alleged that ruling BJP instead of showing the civic work being done under their civic bodies and state government are talking about ‘Love Jehad’, ‘Land Jehad’ and ‘Thook Jehad’. “These are civic elections and BJP should tell the voters about their civic works which they were supposed to do but failed miserably as urban civic life has deteriorated in the entire state,” she added.
Suryakant Dhasmana, Senior Vice-President of the party addressing media persons charged that BJP afraid of losing civic elections have stopped to its time tested divisive strategy of communal polarisation and got the rules and regulations for UCC passed by the state cabinet today. “It is a shame that despite having “Triple engine governments” they have nothing to show and have stopped to their communal divisive agenda of the ‘Sangh Parivar’ in the civic polls”, he added.
A fierce electoral battle is raging in the entire urban areas where ruling BJP and main opposition Congress has been facing each other in the civic polls which are billed as the semi-finals for the next state assembly polls scheduled to be held in early 2027. There are 11 Municipal Corporations, 45 Municipal Councils and 50 Nagar Panchayats in the state. Elections are being conducted in all of the 11 municipal corporations, 44 municipal councils, and 47 nagar panchayats except at Kiccha and Narendranagar The elections in Kichha would be held about a week later and the elections in Narendranagar would be held later alongside the panchayat elections later this year.
In the outgoing Municipal Corporations, BJP had its’ Mayors in Kashipur, Haldwani,Rudrapur,Rishikesh and Dehradun while Congress had it’s Mayors in Haridwar and Kotdwar while Roorkee had an independent as Mayor. Three new municipal bodies of Pithoragarh, Srinagar and Almora have been upgraded as Municipal Corporations this time. In the outgoing 44 municipal Councils in the state, Congress had its chairpersons in 17 while ruling BJP has eleven bodies under its control. The electorates would also elect their councillors in more than 1300 wards in the entire state where polls would also simultaneously held to elect ward councillors along with civic body chiefs in the urban civic bodies.