Uttarakhand: Governor Returns Bills; INC Leader Apologizes for Barb on Sikhs

Uttarakhand Governor Lieutenant General (retired) Gurmit Singh has returned the amendment Bills related to the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and the state’s Freedom of Religion and Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion Act (FRPUCA), citing technical flaws. The Pushkar Singh Dhami-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government had passed the UCC Bill in January 2024 and the FRPUCA Bill in August 2025. Both Bills were considered trials for the BJP to implement them gradually all over India. The official explanation for returning the Bills is that they had technical and spelling errors. If that were the case, the Governor could have sent them back informally for correction. Sending the Bills back implies the Legislative Assembly will have to pass the Bills again after corrections, which will be a setback for the ruling BJP. The opposition Indian National Congress (INC) has called it a tactic to keep the issues alive for the next state elections due in 2027. Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Governor was the chief guest at the 62^nd Annual Day of Sainik School Kapurthala, his alma mater. He said, ‘The school had played a key role in his becoming a three-star General.’ Concurrently, on 9 Dec, senior INC leader in Uttrakhand, Harak Singh Rawat had casually mocked the Sikhs participating in a protest by lawyers. He said barah baj gaye (it’s 12 o’clock) to a Sikh protester, which is a barb to signify the Sikh is mindless. However, the origin of the phrase is in the 18^th century when Sikhs used to attack enemies at midnight to free Hindu women taken captive and recover the loot. Rawat’s barb led to an uproar with Sikhs demanding an immediate apology over controversial remarks. The Sikhs staged a peaceful demonstration, engaging in shabad kirtan (hymn singing) outside Rawat's Defence Colony home in Dehradun. To stem further political fallout, along with Harak Singh Rawat, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and senior Harish Rawat visited Gurdwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha in Dehradun and offered prayers. Both participated in langar sewa (community kitchen) service and performed joda ghar sewa (shoe cleaning) service (earlier coverage).