Assam would be the third state after Uttarakhand and Gujarat to present a bill seeking a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), and it will exempt indigenous tribes from the scope of the law, according to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, news agency PTI reported. A UCC entails establishing a non-religious common law for all citizens of the nation. A unified code will contain personal laws as well as rules concerning inheritance, adoption, and succession.
''We are waiting for the Uttarakhand Bill on UCC and after it is introduced, Assam will follow it with certain additional clauses,'' the chief minister said at a press conference.
Assam's model would include some novel elements because the state is combating underage marriage and polygamy, he added.
Sarma clarified, however, that the Bill will not include the indigenous groups under its purview.
''We will go through the Uttarakhand Bill and see if public consultations will be possible within the next two to three months,'' he said.
If any issues occur, the topic will be examined with specialists and the Bill would be amended accordingly, according to Sarma.
''Everything depends on Bills passed by Uttarakhand and Gujarat, but Assam will definitely be the third state to bring a bill on the UCC,'' he said.
The chief minister also stated that the state government intends to introduce legislation to prohibit polygamy in the state during the budget session of the legislature, which begins next month.
Following the submission of a report by an expert committee on the assembly's competence to ban polygamy, 150 proposals were received about the proposed Bill to eradicate the social scourge in the state.
Sarma had previously stated that his administration supported the UCC but intended to outlaw polygamy immediately in the BJP-ruled state.
Though the UCC is a subject for Parliament to determine, a state can make a decision with the President's approval.
The Lok Sabha elections are coming up in a few months. The BJP's electoral manifestos included the implementation of a UCC.