'Part Of BJP Plan': Himachal Minister Backing Civil Code Questions Timing

A day after extending his full support for a Uniform Civil Code and appealing for not politicising the issue, Himachal Pradesh PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh on Saturday said that raising controversial issues ahead of elections is part of the BJP's strategy.

Addressing reporters in Shimla, Mr Singh said that it is a deliberate effort to divert the attention of the people from core issues such as unemployment and falling growth rate.

Questioning the timing of raising the issue, he said the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which has been in power with full majority for the past nine years, did not initiate any action for implementing the Uniform Civil Code earlier and is now trying to trigger a debate on this issue for electoral gains.

Earlier also, the BJP had raised issues such as the Pulwama terror attack, scrapping of Article 370 and Ayodhya Ram temple to seek votes, besides misleading people on Citizenship Amendment Act, he charged.

Mr Singh is the son of Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh. His late father Virbhadra Singh was a six-time chief minister of the state.

"Whenever the bill on Uniform Civil Code is brought, we will support it. The Congress party is committed to the unity and integrity of the country and full support would be given to it by the Congress," he said.

"At present there are several important issues like Manipur which is burning for the past two months...but neither any action has been taken against the chief minister nor emergency or Governor's rule has been imposed and a similar situation is emerging in many other states too," he said.

He also hit out at state BJP leaders for maintaining silence on the action of the Union government and the Reserve Bank to reduce the borrowing capacity of the state.

Replying to a question regarding Himachal's share in Chandigarh under the Punjab Reorganisation Act 1966, the minister said that the government would continue to pursue the matter and a cabinet sub-committee has been constituted to look into its various aspects and how to put up the case and explore legal actions, if needed.

Earlier, in a Facebook post, the Congress leader said in Hindi, "I fully support the Uniform Civil Code which is necessary for India's unity and integrity, but it should not be politicised."

He had also questioned why the NDA government at the Centre did not implement such a law when it enjoyed a complete majority in Parliament for nine years. "Why is there propaganda on it just a few months before the elections," he asked.

At a meeting in Bhopal earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch for a UCC -- a common law on marriage, divorce and inheritance for people of all faiths.

But the Congress has opposed the move, claiming that the BJP is trying to divide people.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)