Uniform Civil Code Bill tabled in Uttarakhand Assembly

The Uniform Civil Code bill – which proposes uniform marriage, divorce, land, property and inheritance laws for all citizens irrespective of their religion in Uttarakhand – was tabled in the state assembly on Tuesday.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who presented the bill in the House, entered the assembly with an original copy of the Constitution.

The bill will now be debated in the assembly before being passed.

The ongoing session of the state assembly was convened especially for the passage of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill.

Once it becomes an act, Uttarakhand will become the first state in the country after Independence to adopt the UCC. It has been operational in Goa since the days of Portuguese rule. Several BJP ruled states in the country, including Gujarat and Assam, have expressed their keenness to follow the Uttarakhand UCC as a model.

UCC will be for the good of all sections: CM Dhami

Before the start of the session on Monday, Chief Minister Dhami said UCC will be "for the good of all sections" and there is no need to worry as he urged members of other parties to debate the bill in the House in a positive manner.

“It will help realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas, Sab ka Prayas, Sab ka Vishwas' and 'Ek Bharat, Sreshtha Bharat',” he told reporters.

“Not only Uttarakhand but the entire country was waiting for the UCC. The wait is coming to an end on Tuesday when it will be tabled in the state assembly. The whole country will be watching how the bill is brought in the House here and passed," Dhami said.

On the first day of the session, tributes were paid to sitting and former MLAs who passed away since the last session. Obituary references to sitting MLA from Manglaur Sarvat Karim Ansari and former MLAs Mohan Singh Rawat Gaonwasi, Pooran Chandra Sharma, Kishan Singh Tadagi, Kunwar Narendra Singh and Dhani Ram Singh Negi were made on the first day. Chief Minister Dhami, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Yashpal Arya, Cabinet ministers Satpal Maharaj, Ganesh Joshi and Premchand Aggarwal were among the members to offer tribute to the departed leaders.

A meeting of the House business advisory committee was also held after the day's proceedings, where it was decided to lay the UCC in the form of a legislation in the House and start a debate on it on Tuesday.

(With inputs from agencies)