PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that by implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), Uttarakhand has paid homage to Baba Saheb Ambedkar and shown the way to the rest of the country. He said that equality is not confined to the books but has been implemented on ground in the form of a law in Uttarakhand. The CM termed UCC a decisive step in the direction of a new India.
Dhami was addressing a programme organised by the Dr BR Ambedkar Manch at BHEL ground Haridwar to felicitate him for implementing the UCC in the State. Large number of people attended the programme held on Ambedkar’s 135th birth anniversary. Terming Ambedkar an inseparable part of the collective conscience of the nation, Dhami said that he showed the path of equality, uniformity and justice to the country. He said that Ambedkar visualised such a nation where every section of the society had equal rights, opportunity and dignity.
Dhami said that Ambedkar was of the view that UCC is very important for India and its society and had termed it legally, socially and morally necessary for the country, and he got it included in article 44 under the directive principles of the State policy of the Constitution.
The CM averred that the objective of the UCC is to remove disparity, inequality and injustice in the society due to different civil laws for different communities. The CM said that Ambedkar always emphasised on the participation of women in the progress of society and after implementation of UCC, a new era of women empowerment has started in the State. The UCC has made the Muslim women free from the social evils such as Iddat, polygamy, child marriage and triple talaq. No women will now face discrimination in inheritance and will have right in the property, the CM said.
Dhami said that there is a clear reflection of Ambedkar in the policies and working style of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The PM has expressed his tribute to Ambedkar by declaring a national holiday on his birth anniversary. The government is developing the places associated with Ambedkar as five Teerths of national consciousness and under PM Modi the dalits and deprived sections of the society are getting associated with the social mainstream.
He claimed that the State government has increased the budget for SC welfare and has taken many important decisions to strengthen the social, economic and educational condition of the downtrodden.
Dhami said that the State government is also committed to conserving the cultural values and demography of Uttarakhand and strict action is being taken against the people having a heinous mind-set. He added that in recent times some vested interests are trying to divide the society in the name of regionalism and casteism.
Mahant Nirmal Dass Maharaj, former cabinet minister Swami Yatishwarnand, MLA Umesh Kumar, district Panchayat president Kiran Chaudhary, Haridwar mayor Kiran Jaisal, former MLA Deshraj Karnwal, Garhwal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey, Garhwal inspector general of police Sanjiv Swarup, district magistrate Karmendra Singh, SSP Parmendra Dobhal and others attended the programme.
