Puskhar Singh
Dhami, the chief minister of Uttarakhand, said the government will work on getting a Uniform Civil Code in the state if the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) returns to power. He said a committee will be set up to prepare a draft for the Uniform Civil Code. “This Uniform Civil Code will provide for same laws regarding marriages, divorce, land-property and inheritance for all people, irrespective of their faith,” Dhami said. 

Uttarakhand will elect members of its 70-seat Assembly on Monday,
February 14.

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“Implementing UCC
in Uttarakhand at the earliest will boost equal rights for everyone in the
state,” Dhami said. “It’ll enhance social harmony, boost gender justice,
strengthen women empowerment & help protect the extraordinary cultural and
spiritual identity & environment of the state,” he told ANI. 

Dhami, 46, is the third chief minister the state has had within one term. According to him, having a Uniform Civil Code in the state will be a step towards realising “the dreams of those who framed our Constitution and solidify the spirit of the Constitution.”

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Pushkar Singh Dhami’s announcement to implement a Uniform Civil Code in the state if the party returns to power comes a day after Union Minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh said the Uniform Civil Code is the “need of the hour.” Singh’s statement was apparently made in context of the row going in in Karnataka over Muslim women students wearing the hijab to educational institutions. 

A Uniform Civil
Code, according to a definition afforded by Faizan Mustafa, a constitutional
law expert and vice-chancellor of NALSAR University of law, is one that would
provide one law for the entire country applicable to all religious communities
in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.

The Indian
Constitution, in Article 44 – Directive Principles of State Policy – lays down
that the state shall endeavour to secure Uniform Civil Code for the citizens
throughout the territory of India.