Conrad yet to take stand on UCC, forest amendment act & single polls

Shillong, Sep 12: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is yet to take any stand on Uniform Civil Code(UCC), the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act & single polls.

After the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, when questioned by journalists,  Conrad did not want to reply to the questions on whether the Assembly will bring a resolution to oppose UCC and the amended forest act.

He also did not want to comment on the question on ‘one nation one election’ being planned by the Centre by saying that these are hypothetical questions.

While downplaying the need to pass a resolution on UCC during the upcoming Assembly session, the chief minister said,”It is still an idea, what will happen if the country follows matrilineal system as per the uniform civil code”, Conrad countered.

In contrast, the Nagaland Assembly passed a resolution on Tuesday seeking exemption from UCC.

The neighbouring state had also opposed the implementation of the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act.

In the context of the Amendment Act, to a question whether exemption to forest clearance within 100 km of the international border will affect Meghalaya as the state has uranium deposits in the border, the chief minister said there will be other clearances to be obtained beyond the forest clearance.

The forest conservation amendment act also allows zoos, safaris and eco-tourism to be set up in forest areas.

Bharat debate 

Amid the debate on Bharat, the chief minister said he has no problem in using both India and Bharat.

Conrad said he uses Bharat when he speaks in Hindi and India in English.

“We are following the constitution and depending on the situation, we can use both”, Conrad said.