Picture : ANI / X
The Uttarakhand cabinet has approved the final draft of the Uniform Civil Code, paving the way for its tabling in the state Assembly during a special four-day session that began on 5th February.
The state cabinet passed the UCC draft at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at his official residence .
according to ANI, The special session of the Assembly has been convened especially to pass the legislation on the UCC and make it an Act. The cabinet approval of the draft was needed for its introduction in the Assembly.
If UCC is implemented, BJP-ruled Uttarakhand will become the first state in the country after Independence to adopt it. A UCC has been operational in Goa since the days of the Portuguese rule.
A Uniform Civil Code for Uttarakhand was a major election promise by Dhami in the 2022 assembly polls.
The final draft of the UCC running into 740 pages in four volumes was submitted to Chief Minister Dhami recently by a five-member panel headed by retired judge of the Supreme Court Ranjana Prakash Desai. The special session of the Assembly, starting on Monday, will go on till February 8.
The BJP’s landslide victory for a second consecutive term in power in Uttarakhand has been attributed on many occasions by the chief minister to the pre-poll promise of a UCC.
After becoming chief minister for a second consecutive term, Dhami accorded top priority to fulfilling his pre-poll commitment, announcing the constitution of a committee to prepare the draft of the UCC at the first meeting of the state cabinet after assuming office.
The Committee formed in May 2022 took nearly two years and four extensions to prepare the draft.
