U’khand becomes first state to bring UCC bill
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday tabled the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, which provides for self-declaration of live-in relationships, mandatory registration of marriage and divorce besides making 18 marriageable age for women and 21 for men. The bill exempts Scheduled Tribes (ST), who account for the state’s 2.89% population, from its ambit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a case for the UCC in June last year. Several tribal communities in both central India and the northeast protested the move.
“Our government, taking all sections of society along with full responsibility, has presented the Uniform Civil Code Bill...,” said Dhami after tabling the proposed legislation amid chants of “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Lord Ram).
Dhami said Uttarakhand was about to witness a historic moment. He added the state would become a strong pillar of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat (One India, Great India)”.
The House was adjourned until 2pm after the tabling of the bill for the legislators to read it before a discussion. Congress leader Yashpal Arya sought more time to examine the bill. “This is a 172-page bill and two hours are not enough to examine it. We need more time so that we can give our suggestions or raise issues that need to be looked into,” he said.
Parliamentary affairs minister Premchand Aggarwal gave a historical backdrop of the UCC after the House resumed and questioned why was not it brought up until now. He called the introduction of the bill a historic step. “Contrary to the Congress’s claims that they did not get time to examine the bill, many of its leaders have started commenting on it. I heard a Muslim woman talking about the UCC on a TV channel. She was lauding the UCC and questioning those who were opposing it.”
The bill, which has 392 sections divided into four parts and seven chapters, seeks to provide equal rights for women in inheritance in ancestral properties, adoption, and divorce. It provides for a ban on polygamy.
The bill was tabled on the second day of a special four-day assembly session convened to pass the legislation. Uttarakhand will become the first