Himachal Pradesh CM: Examining Uniform Civil Code option, won't rush

New Delhi, April 25

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur today said the state government would not rush into implementing the Uniform Civil Code, but it was actively examining the issue. Terming the neighbouring BJP-led Uttarakhand Government’s decision to go ahead with the UCC as a “good step and a good start”, Thakur said he had instructed state officials to study the subject and see if it could be implemented keeping Himachal’s nuances in mind.

“We will not rush. It’s (UCC) a good step and we are examining it. Its implementation is not ruled out before the November elections. The matter is under our active consideration,” said Thakur speaking to The Tribune on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi where he inaugurated a media centre at Himachal Bhavan.

Thakur downplayed the challenge from the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP saying the state had “never accepted a third alternative”. They (AAP) can try their prospects in democracy, but they won’t succeed, the CM said. He added that AAP was banking on “imported leaders”, which “won’t work in Himachal.” “This is not Punjab. The state has always rejected a third front,” the CM said.

Asked to list his top challenge ahead of Assembly poll, he said, “The top challenge is to repeat the BJP government, something that has not happened since 1985. But traditions are now changing. We recently saw BJP repeating its governments in UP and Uttarakhand. Himachal has only one thing left to do — elect the BJP again.”

He said he did not see the Congress securing a future in a long time to come and called AAP “a party of circumstances, rather than ideological commitments”. —