New Delhi: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has promised implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in the hill state after the assembly elections.
Dhami said implementing the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand at the earliest will boost equal rights for everyone in the state.
“It will enhance social harmony, boost gender justice, strengthen women empowerment and help protect the extraordinary cultural-spiritual identity and environment of the state,” Dhami told news agency ANI.
The Chief Minister said the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government will soon after its swearing-in form a committee to prepare a draft of the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand.
“This Uniform Civil Code will provide for same laws regarding marriages, divorce, land-property and inheritance for all people, irrespective of their faith,” he added.
The Uttarakhand Chief Minister’s remarks come as the ruling BJP government at the Centre has been pushing for the law in Parliament.
The Delhi High Court had earlier backed the need for a Uniform Civil Code in the country and asked the Central government to initiate necessary steps in this regard.
Noting the modern Indian society is gradually becoming “homogeneous”, dissipating traditional barriers of religion, community and caste, the High Court had earlier on July 9 last year observed there is the need for a Code that is "common to all" in the country.
The High Court stated that a Uniform Civil Code in India, as envisioned under Constitution’s Article 44, would enable uniform principles to be applied in matters of marriage, divorce, and succession.
The Uniform Civil Code, which seeks to scrap the separate civil laws applicable for minorities in religious and cultural affairs, would put in place a set of laws to govern the personal matters of the citizens irrespective of their religion.
The hill state will go for polls in a single phase on February 14 and the results will be declared on March 10.
In the 2017 Uttarakhand Assembly elections, the BJP had won 56 out of the total 70 seats. The Congress party bagged just 11 seats.