ANI reports that the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami-led government announced a drafting committee on Friday to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state.
With the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code, Uttarakhand will become the second Indian state to have one after Goa, a legal reform that has drawn controversy and criticism. Following the chief minister’s announcement that the hill state would implement the Uniform Civil Code, the committee was formed.
According to ANI, CM Dhami said, “We had taken an oath to implement a Uniform Civil Code before the elections. At our first meeting after the elections, it was passed with everyone’s consent. The committee will draft an official draft soon, and it will be implemented immediately.”
The UCC committee of Uttarakhand
Former state chief secretaries Shatrughan Singh, Manu Gaud, and Surekha Dangwal are members of the committee appointed by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Ranjana Desai, a retired Supreme Court judge, and Pramod Kohli, a retired Delhi High Court judge, are chairmen of the committee.
According to Dhami, the state government has decided to implement the Uniform Civil Code in the state. “We have decided to implement the Uniform Civil Code,” he said earlier today. In his address in Champawat, Dhami assured the people that the UCC would be for everyone, regardless of their religion or social background.
There will be other states, too.
Himachal Pradesh’s Chief Minister Jairam Thakur also announced that the UCC would be introduced soon in the state. The UCC is a hot topic in several states across the country.
The Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently also backed the UCC, stating that it is in the interests of Muslim women to implement it otherwise polygamy would persist.
Meanwhile, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) termed it `an unconstitutional and anti-minority move*, and called the rhetoric for introducing the law an attempt by Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and the Central governments to divert attention from the concerns of inflation, the economy, and rising unemployment.
Noteworthy is that the Bharatiya Janata Party pledged to implement UCC in its 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto.