Dehradun: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has been brought in Uttarakhand and now will be discussed on all forums. All states will surely adopt UCC because religion-based civil codes cannot exist in a secular country, he said.
The Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code, 2024 Bill was passed by the Uttarakhand Assembly on February 8. The state is set to become the first in the country to adopt UCC after independence. The bill has been sent to the Governor for approval and then will be sent for the President's asset.
After getting approval from the Governor and the President, UCC will be enacted as law in Uttarakhand. The UCC bill primarily focuses on marriage, divorce, inheritance and live-in relationships and proposes a common law irrespective of religion. Scheduled Tribes have been exempted from UCC's purview.
Addressing an event in Delhi, Shah said that UCC has not only been BJP's agenda since the Jan Sangh days but an agenda of the Constitution. "In Article 44, the makers of the Constitution have told that whenever there is a need, there should be a UCC in the country. Even the signatures Jawahar Lal Nehru, Maulana Azad, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and others are on it, he said.
According to Shah, Congress has forgotten UCC due to its appeasement politics but the BJP has held onto it. "UCC needs to be discussed on all forums and I think all states will surely adopt it. Religion-based laws cannot exist in a secular country," he said.
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