Will Form Committee For Uniform Civil Code: Uttarakhand Chief Minister

Reiterating to fulfill the BJP's poll promise of implementing the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday said that the state government will constitute a committee taking into consideration all the stakeholders and specialists.

Addressing the media during his Delhi visit, Mr Dhami said, "We will soon constitute a committee on the Uniform Civil Code. After the committee is formed, we will take all the stakeholders and specialists into consideration who will prepare the draft. Based on the draft, UCC will be implemented in Uttarakhand."

The Uniform Civil Code is a proposal in India to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which apply to all citizens equally regardless of their religion, sex, gender and sexual orientation. Currently, the personal laws of various communities are governed by their religious scriptures.

The code comes under Article 44 of the Constitution which lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens throughout the territory of India. Notably, in BJP's 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto, BJP promised the implementation of UCC if it comes to power.

Talking about the Char Dham Yatra verification drive run by the state government, Mr Dhami said that it is being done to avoid any law and order problems because of the miscreants during the Yatra.

"We will run a verification drive in Uttarakhand because our state is the centre of religion, spiritualism and culture. It is the home of the Himalayas and Ganga. We also share two international borders and are peaceful. The law and order situation should not deteriorate," he said.

"To make sure that this does not happen, we have run a verification campaign in which the names of numerous suspicious persons have emerged," Mr Dhami added.

Notably, the Yatra is scheduled to be held from May 3.

Amid the looming power crisis in various parts of the country, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister said that his government is constantly working to provide electricity to the people of the state.

"We are constantly working to resolve the issue of power crisis. We had improved the electricity condition in the previous weeks. We are working to make the situation right in Uttarakhand which is not right in the entire country. We are working on providing electricity to the people of the state," he said.

Earlier today, a joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts was held in New Delhi. Detailing the event, Dhami said that they received guidance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"We got the guidance of PM Modi. We are working well in Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand has become the first state to provide the facility of virtual hearing for the differently-abled ones who cannot reach the courts to record their statements," he said.