Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday tabled the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill the State Legislative Assembly. The Bill was introduced in the House amid chants of “Jai Shri Ram” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” by BJP legislators.

Chief Minister Dhami has called it a “moment of pride” for the state, while the Opposition Congress accused the Centre of using a sensitive state like Uttarakhand for tokenism.

“With the aim of giving equal rights to the citizens of Devbhoomi Uttarakhand, a Uniform Civil Code bill will be introduced in the Assembly today. It is a moment of pride for all the people of the state that we will be known as the first state in the country to move towards implementing UCC,” CM Dhami wrote on ‘X’ before introducing the Bill.

Earlier on Sunday, the Uttarakhand Cabinet had approved the final draft of the UCC. The Bill proposes uniform civil laws for all communities in the state.

Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said on Monday that the Uniform Civil Code is in the consultation process and being reviewed by the Law Commission of India.

“This is not just the issue of the Centre; the makers of the Constitution had discussed this even when the Constitution was being made…Right now, this matter is under consideration with the Law Commission of India and is in the consultation process.

The states can fix it or improve it, and the government of Goa has already worked on UCC. The Uttarakhand government has approved this in the cabinet and as soon as we get a report by the Law Commission, we will inform you…” said Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.

Earlier, a draft of the UCC was handed over to the Chief Minister by the five-member committee headed by retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai.

The UCC will provide a legal framework for uniform marriage, divorce, land, property, and inheritance laws for all citizens, irrespective of their religion.

The passage of the UCC Bill will mark the fulfillment of a major promise made by the BJP to the people of the state in the run-up to the 2022 Assembly polls.

In March 2022, the Dhami government decided to constitute a committee to prepare a draft for the UCC.

(With ANI inputs)