Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand soon? CM Dhami’s meeting with PM Modi, Amit Shah sparks buzz

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, triggering renewed buzz around the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in the state. The Uttarakhand UCC Drafting Committee also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday.

The report of the Uttarakhand UCC Drafting Committee is expected to be submitted within the next 15 days. After this, it will be placed in the Assembly, and the process of giving it the shape of a law will be done.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will also visit Uttarakhand on October 7. BJP’s’ Uttarakhand media in-charge, Manveer Chauhan, said that Shah will be at the state headquarters from 5 PM to 8 PM on October 7. During this time, he will hold three meetings with organisation officials, in which election preparations and strategy will be discussed.

Previously, the Uttarakhand government had extended the tenure of the expert committee formed to prepare the draft of the UCC for the third time. The tenure of the committee ended on September 27. The five-member panel constituted to draft the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand has not yet submitted its final report to the government.

Earlier on June 30, committee head and former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai had said that a draft was being prepared and the report of the expert committee will soon be submitted to the Uttarakhand government.

“In accordance with our commitment to the people of the state, today, on June 30, the committee formed to prepare the draft of the Uniform Civil Code has concluded its work. The Uniform Civil Code will soon be implemented in Devbhoomi, Uttarakhand. Jai Hind, Jai Uttarakhand!” Dhami conveyed this via a post shared on X earlier.

On May 27, last year, the Uttarakhand government constituted a five-member expert committee regarding UCC.

UCC was one of the major election promises of the BJP in the state assembly elections held last year. After the first cabinet meeting of the newly formed Uttarakhand government, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced the formation of a committee of experts for the implementation of UCC in the state.

During an interview with NDTV three days ago, Dhami defended the BJP’s proposal of a Uniform Civil Code for Uttarakhand in its pre-election manifesto. He underscored that the state’s populace had granted a mandate for its implementation by voting the party into power.

The UCC envisions the creation of a single law for India, applicable to all religious communities in matters encompassing marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption.

Governments led by the BJP in Assam and the Madhya Pradesh government have similarly announced the formation of committees to explore the UCC. The Goa Civil Code has been in effect since the Portuguese era and is regarded as a form of Uniform Civil Code, albeit with complexities in its application. Gujarat has also indicated its intentions to progress towards a UCC.