‘UCC committee hurts the federal structure’ says Dotasra as Congress boycotts public hearings

“We found out that there is a chitthi (letter) from the union government and the Rajasthan government has to follow it. And that is so that disturbance among religions can be spread, there is Hindu Muslim, and to distract from actual issues,” Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra said while talking to journalists.

He said that the move comes ahead of the monsoon session in Vidhan Sabhas and Lok Sabha and the government wants to distract people from issues “of electricity, water, roads, health, employment, crop insurance…”

Sarcastically terming it a “mahaan (great) committee”, he said that among the members is “RSS’s Dr Shuchi Chauhan.”

Contacted by The Indian Express, Dr Chauhan refused to comment on the issue.

Referring to chairperson Desai and former Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Shatrughan Singh, Dotasra said that the “same committee” is working in Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Rajasthan. He said that instead of sending the same committee to several states and doing it at the state level, the Centre should have done it at the central level instead.

Dotasra said that such a system “hurts at the federal system,” and that the process has been undertaken “solely to hurt the communal harmony for political reasons, and to avoid questions on actual governance issues.”

Meanwhile, the party has also been boycotting the public hearings, saying that such a hearing without a draft is being done “to vitiate the atmosphere in the state and to divert from more pressing issues”. The hearing for the Ajmer region is being held on July 6 and 7.

“We are not participating (in the meetings). There is no draft; what is the point of discussions and debates? Suggestions are taken when there is a draft present on the subject. The same applies in the courts and even in the state Assembly, where we debate only after a draft is tabled,” Dotasra told The Indian Express.

On July 5, Dotasra also wrote to the Chief Secretary saying that the party “will be forced to completely boycott this public hearing” unless the draft is first made public.

“Before implementing any law or inviting public comments, making its draft public is an essential part of the democratic process, so that the public and parties concerned can study its provisions and submit their suggestions and objections. However, without making any draft public, the government seeks to initiate an improper debate in society under the guise of a public hearing, which is a direct attack on the fabric of social harmony in the state and threatens it,” Dotasra said in the letter.

“Such a debate raises serious concerns among people of different religions, castes, and tribes about their rights, traditions, and customs. This type of public hearing is likely to create feelings of animosity between different sections of society. The Congress party categorically opposes any debate that threatens to undermine the social harmony and goodwill in the state,” he said.

While former IAS Singh will hold the Jaipur division meeting on July 10-11, the AAG is holding the Ajmer (July 6-7) and Udaipur (July 13-14) meetings. Similarly, Agarwal will hold meetings in Kota (July 8) and Bharatpur (July 10) while Shuchi Chauhan is holding meetings in Bikaner (July 2-3) and Jodhpur (July 6-7).

In his letter, Dotasra also said that UCC is an attempt to divert attention from more pressing issues: “Currently, the state’s medical system is in shambles. The public is neither receiving timely treatment nor access to essential medicines. Extremely unfortunate incidents, such as the deaths of pregnant women in government hospitals due to counterfeit medicines, have occurred. Beneficiaries are not receiving the benefits of the Rajasthan Government Health Scheme (RGHS). Inflation is at its peak, the state’s youth are searching for jobs, unemployment is steadily rising, and the youth are suffering from serious problems like paper leaks.”

“Similarly, the state’s education system has reached abysmal levels. School buildings are falling into disrepair, teacher positions are vacant, and students lack even basic amenities. Law and order in the state has completely collapsed. Shootings to extort money from businessmen are occurring daily. Incidents of abuse against women and girls are bringing shame to the state, and criminals roam freely,” he said.

“By not holding public hearings to resolve these burning public issues, the government is trying to divert the attention of the public from the basic problems of the state. If a public hearing is held to address the aforementioned public problems of the state’s common people, all Congress party workers will be ready to participate and offer their valuable suggestions to the government. This meaningless public hearing, which disrupts social harmony and is being held without a draft, has no legal authority or justification,” he said, asking the CS to “withdraw” public hearings under UCC.

BJP state president Madan Rathore said, “They’re in the Opposition so it’s their job to nitpick and find faults. And that’s what they are doing. They should look at the positive aspect that everyone’s opinion and suggestions are being taken and they’ll be considered as much as possible. Our draft is ready and we have the UCC in other states as the model. This will be fine-tuned considering the circumstances of the state.”

“But they have an opposition at the suggestion stage itself; they can also give their suggestions and if there are shortcomings, then it will be tabled in the Assembly where they will have complete freedom to make their point,” Rathore said.