Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that it was the good fortune of the people of the state that the Uniform Civil Code was implemented, saying that UCC had been a core issue of the Bharatiya Janata Party since the independence and that it does not target anyone.
"UCC has been our core agenda since the independence of the country and it was the good fortune of the people of Uttarakhand that we got a chance to implement it," Dhami said on Wednesday.
"We had said before the elections that if our government comes to power, we will implement UCC. The public blessed us and we fulfilled our promise," he added.
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Speaking with ABP News in a special interview ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP leader said that that party would win all five seats this time as well with a "greater" margin, adding that there was no challenge from the opposition on any seat.
On the opposition parties opposing UCC, Dhami said that it was done within the limits of the Constitution. "We did not target anyone...just as Gangotri has emerged from Uttarakhand, similarly UCC has been implemented from here and everyone will get benefits in future," he said.
Speaking on razing illegal mazars and removing encroachment, Dhami said that the work culture has changed since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. "Earlier there was only vote bank politics and politics of appeasement leaving behind national interest."
He said that encroachment and illegal occupation is a "big conspiracy". "Whatever steps needed to be taken have been taken to maintain the original form of Devbhoomi and we will continue to do so," said the Uttarakhand CM.
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Dhami said that schemes for self-employment and boosting tourism had been launched in the state along with the opening up of homestays in a bid to stop migration, adding that people are coming back due to these schemes. Women are getting employment through self-help groups which is proving beneficial for the state, he added.
The Uttarakhand CM pointed out that it has been two years since the anti-conversion law was introduced in the state which was one of the poll promises. "Conversion is a sin in Devbhoomi. The faith that the people of Devbhoomi have should remain intact. Being the chief servant of the government, the task given to me by the public is that my priority is to maintain the original form of Devbhoomi," he said.