Uttarakhand UCC panel holds first meeting in Delhi

New Delhi: An expert committee formed to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand met for the first time on Monday in Delhi's Uttarakhand Sadan.

The meeting was chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai.
The Uttarakhand government constituted a five-member committee to be led by former Supreme Court judge, Justice (retired) Desai, to prepare a draft proposal for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the Uttarakhand state.

The committee also includes Justice Permod Kohli (retired), social activist Manu Gaur, former chief secretary Shatrughan Singh and vice-chancellor of Doon University Surekha Dangwal.

After the meeting, the members of the committee are likely to meet Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who is scheduled to arrive from Hyderabad in the national capital today.

The Uttarakhand government on May 27 announced its decision to implement the Uniform Civil Code in the state.
"We have taken a decision to implement the Uniform Civil Code in the state. Uttarakhand will be the second state after Goa to implement this," Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said earlier.

"We will bring UCC for the people irrespective of them being from any religion and section of the society," Dhami had assured.

Earlier on May 2, Himachal Pradesh CM Jairam Thakur also announced that the UCC will be brought into the state soon.

However, a debate over the UCC has sparked in several states of the country, recently Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma also backed it by saying that the UCC should be implemented in the greater interest of Muslim women otherwise polygamy would continue.

Meanwhile, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) termed it 'an unconstitutional and anti-minorities move', and called the rhetoric for bringing the law an attempt by Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Central governments to divert the attention from the concerns of inflation, economy, and rising unemployment.

Notably, in Bharatiya Janata Party's 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto, BJP promised the implementation of UCC if it comes to power. (ANI)