As the Uniform Civil Code Bill is tabled in the Uttarakhand assembly on Tuesday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami called it a moment of pride adding that Uttarakhand will be the first to move towards implementing UCC.
The bill was tabled on 6th February, Tuesday, during the ongoing four-day special session of the assembly, which began on Monday.
Referring to this, CM Dhami posted on X, “With the aim of giving equal rights to the citizens of Devbhoomi Uttarakhand, a Uniform Civil Code bill will be introduced in the Assembly today. It is a moment of pride for all the people of the state that we will be known as the first state in the country to move towards implementing UCC”.
#UPDATE | The proceedings of the House have been adjourned till 2 pm today. #UttarakhandCivilCode https://t.co/oFiChBumix
— ANI (@ANI) February 6, 2024
On Sunday, the Uttarakhand Cabinet approved the final draft of the UCC, which proposes uniform civil laws for all communities in the state.
Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said on Monday that the Uniform Civil Code is in the consultation process and being reviewed by the Law Commission of India.
“This is not just the issue of the Centre; the makers of the Constitution had discussed this even when the Constitution was being made…Right now, this matter is under consideration with the Law Commission of India and is in the consultation process. The states can fix it or improve it, and the government of Goa has already worked on UCC. The Uttarakhand government has approved this in the cabinet and as soon as we get a report by the Law Commission, we will inform you…” said Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.
Earlier, a draft of the UCC was handed over to the Uttarakhand Chief Minister by the five-member committee headed by retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai.
The UCC will provide a legal framework for uniform marriage, divorce, land, property, and inheritance laws for all citizens, irrespective of their religion.
The passage of the UCC Bill will mark the fulfillment of a major promise made by the BJP to the people of the state in the run-up to the 2022 Assembly polls.
In March 2022, the Dhami government decided to constitute a committee to prepare a draft for the UCC.
The opposition says they don’t oppose the bill, but raise concerns over ‘rules’ and draft copy
Yashpal Arya, the Leader of Opposition in Uttarakhand assembly claimed that they are not against the UCC, but the ruling party BJP is not following the rules of the assembly. He added that the BJP is trying to “suppress the voice of the MLAs” by their sheer majority numbers.
Congress leader Harish Rawat claimed that the state government wants an immediate discussion on the Bill but not all MLAs have received a drat of the Bill yet. Rawat added that the UCC Bill in Uttarakhand is ‘tokenism’ and if the BJP is so keen on it, they should have brought it in the national level by the central government.
The assembly proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm today following a ruckus in the assembly after CM Dhami tabled the Bill.
(With inputs from ANI)
