New Delhi: The Uttarakhand government may soon call a special session of the assembly to introduce the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill in the state. Apart from this, the government is also planning to introduce a bill to provide 10 percent reservation for state agitators in government jobs. It is learned that the expert committee on UCC will submit its report to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami after Diwali.
The state government had constituted a committee on UCC under the chairmanship of retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai on May 27, 2022. Justice (retd) Pramod Kohli, social activist Manu Gaur, former Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand Shatrughan Singh and Doon University Vice Chancellor Surekha Dangwal are the members of the committee.
The committee was ordered to examine all existing and relevant laws regarding marriage, divorce, property rights, inheritance, adoption and security for the implementation of the UCC in the state. The committee has sought suggestions from people from all sections of the society and the committee members have visited different parts of the state. In this, more than 1.5 lakh suggestions have been collected from different sections of the society. Sub-committees of the UCC have held discussions with members of different religions, communities, stakeholders and sections.
Ahead of the 2022 assembly elections, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had promised that the BJP government would bring a Uniform Civil Code in the state and in the first meeting of the state cabinet after the swearing-in of the new government last year, it was decided to set up an expert committee. CM Dhami has expressed his intention to implement UCC in the state before the end of this year.
Apart from UCC, the government can also introduce a bill to facilitate 10 percent reservation in government jobs for state agitators. The bill was introduced during the monsoon session of the Assembly but was sent to a select committee of the Assembly. The committee headed by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prem Chand Aggarwal has submitted its report to Speaker Ritu Khanduri.
