Rules under UCC approved, implementation date to be announced soon: Dhami

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday said the rules under Uniform Civil Code (UCC) have been approved and the date of its implementation will be announced soon.

After chairing a state cabinet meeting, Dhami said that preparations for implementing the UCC in the state are almost complete.

"The training process for the UCC implementation is almost complete. During the cabinet meeting, we discussed implementing it as soon as possible. After reviewing everything, we will soon announce its implementation date."  In December, Dhami had announced that UCC would be implemented in January. With municipal elections scheduled for January 23 and results expected on January 25, speculation is rife that the governmnet might announce UCC implementation on Republic Day.

Responding to a question, the chief minister said that its implementation will bring a big change in the state.

He added that his party had promised to bring UCC before the 2022 elections, and the process was initiated in the first cabinet meeting after assuming power.

He said, "We constituted an expert committee to draft the UCC, following which a bill was passed in the state assembly."  The Chief Minister said the Governor and subsequently the President gave their assent to the bill, making it an Act. Uttarakhand is set to become the first state in independent India to implement uniform laws for all its citizens.

Dhami dismissed the Congress's allegations that UCC represents divisive politics, calling them baseless.

He said, "This is not any divisive politics. UCC has a uniform system and uniform law for all.