Ahead of elections, Gujarat govt forms panel to implement Uniform Civil Code
During its meeting, Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi said the state cabinet cleared a proposal to constitute the committee.
FollowAhead of Gujarat assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state on Saturday decided to set up a committee to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). During its meeting, Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi said the state cabinet cleared a proposal to constitute the committee.
This is considered the last meeting of the Bhupendra Patel-led cabinet as the schedule for the state elections is expected to be announced next week.
"The committee will be headed by a retired high court judge and will have three to four members," Union minister Parshottam Rupala said. Earlier, the BJP governments in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh had announced implementation of the UCC in their states.
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The centre had also filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court earlier, calling for a UCC to be implemented in the country arguing that different religions cannot follow different rules adding the power to make laws is exclusive to the legislature.
According to the central government, a single set of secular laws must be applicable to all religions and would apply to inheritance, marriage and divorce laws across all religions.
The BJP argued that this move would be aimed at moving towards a more progressive society. Several parties including the Shiv Sena have supported the implementation of the UCC terming it a key measure pro-women.
The UCC would mean several changed for the Muslim Personal Law including the abolition of polygamy practices. In 1937, the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act was passed with the aim to formulate an Islamic law code for Indian Muslims.
The introduction of UCC has found a place in BJP's poll manifesto time and again. In keeping with the BJP's position, UCC was one of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami's election promises ahead of Assembly polls earlier this year.
