AIMIM President and Member of Parliament from Hyderabad, Asaduddin Owaisi has criticised the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) that the Uttarakhand government is set to implement. He claimed that Muslims in India have been turned into "untouchables." Expressing concern for Muslims, the AIMIM President took to X and wrote, "Muslims have been made untouchable in India. 15 Muslim families are being boycotted in Chamoli, Uttarakhand. Traders of Chamoli have threatened that Muslims will have to leave Chamoli by 31 December. If house owners give houses to Muslims, they will have to pay a fine of Rs 10,000."
"Don't the Muslims of Chamoli have the right to live with equality and respect?" he further noted. Earlier on October 19, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and Congress leader Harish Rawat had also criticised Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He said that there is nothing substantial in the UCC and that it is merely a promotional step. Speaking exclusively to ANI, Harish Rawat said, "There is nothing in the UCC; it is only a promotional sequence. It has enhanced Uttarakhand CM Dhami's stature in national politics. The BJP also had to convey this to their voters."
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"It has been ten years since they have been in power, so why did we not implement the UCC? Pushkar Singh Dhami came forward and made this announcement so that the BJP can claim they are implementing the UCC." He added, "The UCC is nothing; it is only a step taken for political propaganda. They can implement it whenever they want. The Uttarakhand government has nothing solid to tell people about what they have done in the state. The Uttarakhand government set a deadline for filling potholes, which they could not complete. Atrocities against women are constantly rising. There is an imbalance in the state. When people consider what has been done by the BJP government for their welfare, voters won't give them a chance."
Meanwhile, on Friday UCC Rules and Implementation Committee chairman, the retired IAS officer Shatrughan Singh submitted the final report to chief minister Dhami at the state secretariat.The Uttarakhand UCC bill addresses laws relating to marriage, divorce, succession, live-in relationships, and related matters. Among its many proposals, the Uniform Civil Code Bill mandates the registration of live-in relationships under the law. The act also imposes a complete ban on child marriage and introduces a uniform process for divorce. The Code provides equal rights to women of all religions concerning their ancestral property. According to the UCC Bill, the marriage age will be 18 for women and 21 for men in all communities. Marriage registration will be mandatory across all religions, and marriages without registration will be deemed invalid. No divorce petition will be allowed to be filed after one year of marriage.