Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday said the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will soon be implemented in the state, adding that it will be presented in the Assembly soon.
“Now we are also preparing to implement the Uniform Civil Code of Conduct in Devbhoomi. It will be presented in the Assembly soon,” CM Dhami said while participating in the Shashtipurti Mahotsav of Sadhvi Ritambhara in Mathura on Saturday.
The Uniform Civil Code is a proposal to formulate and implement personal laws that will apply uniformly to all citizens regardless of their religion, gender, and sexual orientation. The Uttarakhand Cabinet on December 22 approved the decisions taken so far by the five-member panel formed to prepare a draft for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state. The cabinet approved the decision in a meeting under the chairmanship of Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami. However, the committee has yet to submit its detailed report to the government.
The committee is headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, who currently heads the Delimitation Commission of India. Other members of the committee include retired Delhi High Court judge Pramod Kohli, social activist Manu Gaur, ex-chief secretary and IAS officer Shatrughan Singh, and Doon University Vice-Chancellor Surekha Dangwal.
The UCC was promised to the people of the state in the run-up to the 2022 assembly polls in Uttarakhand.
Article 44 of the Constitution of India says that the State shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) throughout the territory of India.
The UCC proposes a common set of laws dealing with marriage, inheritance, adoption, and other matters.
The UCC, which had been a hot topic that had polarised opinions over the last 4 years, hit the forefront yet again after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong case for the implementation of uniform legislation in an address in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal.
PM Modi said the country cannot run on two laws and that the Uniform Civil Code was in keeping with the founding principles and ideals of the Constitution.