• Source:ANI
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Uniform Civil Code: The Uttarakhand government is likely to approve the draft of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in a cabinet meeting on Saturday evening, making the state the first in the country to adopt the UCC, which would establish a common set of personal laws for all citizens regardless of religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

The UCC drafting committee, led by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, submitted the draft to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday. 

During the meeting, the cabinet will approve the draft report of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), following which the government will present the UCC Bill in the Assembly on February 6, as reported by the news agency ANI. The assembly will reportedly have a special four-day session from February 5-8 to pass the legislation. 

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand CM Dhami has described the developments as a ‘long-awaited moment’ and stated that the draft will be examined, studied, and discussed before being tabled in the House.

“The long-awaited moment has arrived. The draft of UCC has now been submitted to us. We will examine, study and discuss it before tabling it in the state assembly to move in the direction of making it an act during its forthcoming session," Dhami said. 

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, the Uttarakhand CM said it was an important day for the people of the state as the UCC will help realise the vision of 'Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat'.

After receiving the UCC draft on Friday, Dhami said, “Moving forward in the direction of implementing the Uniform Civil Code as per the resolution placed before the godlike people of Uttarakhand, the draft was received today from the committee formed for the purpose of preparing the UCC draft in Dehradun.”

What Is the Uniform Civil Code? 

Uniform Civil Code refers to a common set of laws that apply to all the citizens of India that is not based on religion and deals with marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption among other personal matters. The implementation of the UCC will mark the fulfilment of one of the major promises made by the BJP to the people of the state in the run-up to the 2022 Assembly polls.