Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 12 appealed to the people in Uttarakhand not to let the Congress's "agenda of appeasement" succeed when the State goes to polls on February 14. Addressing a rally in poll-bound Uttarakhand at Rudrapur on the last day of campaigning in the State, he asked voters to see these elections as an opportunity to wipe out the Congress which, he said, has already been rejected in a majority of States in the country.
Terming the Congress's plans to establish a muslim university in Devbhoomi a part of its agenda of appeasement, he asked people if they will tolerate this insult to the land of gods. He said the Congress has no understanding of the country's cultural legacy and is disrespectful towards the armed forces.
Reiterating the charge that the Congress had even called Uttarakhand's pride and the country's first CDS Gen. Bipin Rawat a "streetside hooligan", the Prime Minister called upon the people to avenge this insult in the coming polls.
Mr. Modi said the Congress does not even look upon this country as one "unified nation". "If India was not a unified one nation, the brave sons of Uttarakhand hills would not have been found guarding the country's maritime boundaries at the Kerala coast," he said.
Describing the Covid pandemic as the worst crisis in 100 years to hit mankind, he said the BJP Government carried out development works undeterred and served the poor and needy wholeheartedly. "People in Uttarakhand have realised that succour to the poor during the crisis like free rations under the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana would not have reached them as smoothly as it did if any other party was in power," Mr. Modi said. "We did not let a single poor person go to sleep on an empty stomach during the pandemic," he said.
The BJP is leaving no stone unturned for the development of Uttarakhand, he said and cited the big road, rail, air and ropeway connectivity projects underway in the State. Accusing the Congress of spreading rumours about the anti-Covid vaccines, he said the party did it for politics because it thought if things got back on track it will not have anything to speak against the Government.
Earlier, addressing the rally, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said if re-elected, the BJP Government will constitute a committee soon after being sworn-in to prepare the draft of a Uniform Civil Code for Uttarakhand.
The committee to draft a Uniform Civil Code for the State will consist of legal experts, retired people, intellectuals and other stakeholders, he said. The ambit of the committee will cover issues related to marriage, divorce, landed property and succession, he said. "It will be a significant step towards fulfilling the dreams of India's Constitution makers and will realise the spirit of the Constitution. It will also be an effective step towards Article 44 of the Constitution which presents the concept of equitable law for all citizens of society regardless of their religion," Mr. Dhami said.
He had first announced it in a video statement earlier in the day.
