With the BJP pulling out all stops to retain power in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday lauded the Uniform Civil Code as a good concept and said his government is open to implementing it. He also played down the challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the state, dubbing the Arvind Kejriwal-led party as an outsider whose style of politics will not work in Himachal Pradesh.
The hill state, which has a history of not relecting a government in the last five decades, is headed for assembly polls later this year. Interacting with the media at the Himachal Bhawan here, Thakur said, “The AAP is an outsider for Himachal Pradesh, they have no leadership in the state. Whether it is their rallies or road shows, they only give prominence to Kejriwal and (Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant) Mann and none of them are from the state.” Asserting that the AAP’s style of politics will not work in Himachal Pradesh, he said that it is a peaceful state and the people “will not accept any third alternative”.
In the last five decades, it is either the BJP or the Congress that has been in power in Himachal Pradesh. Confident of the BJP’s victory in the state, Thakur said this time the BJP will break this trend and would repeat its government.
On a question on neighboring BJP-ruled Uttarakhand pushing for implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), he said Himachal Pradesh is also examining it. “The Uniform Civil Code is a good step, we are examining it…our officers are examining it. We are open to implement it in the state, it cannot be ruled out,” Thakur said.
Thakur’s comments on the UCC assumes importance as elections in the state are scheduled to be held later this year. In the last assembly polls, the BJP had won 43 seats in the 68-member assembly. The BJP’s winning trend continued in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as well and it had won all three seats in the state. The party has, however, recently suffered several set backs in recent bypolls including in the Mandi Lok Sabha election.
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