Uttarakhand CM Dhami calls passage of UCC Bill people's good fortune

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], February 7 : After Uttarakhand assembly gave its nod to the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Wednesday that it is the good fortune of people of the state.
The Uniform Civil Code, which proposes and formulates a uniform law across communities, was passed with a comfortable majority during the special session of the Uttarakhand assembly session.
"The people of Devbhoomi, Uttarakhand, are witnesses to this fortune. The uniformity that should have existed, something that is stated in the Constitution, what the makers of the Constitution wanted, has been done by Uttarakhand today," the Chief Minister said while addressing a public gathering in Dehradun.
"From Devbhoomi, this law will go across the country. Discussions for this law have started in other states too. Rajasthan and other states have taken a step in this direction," he added.

CM Dhami, meanwhile, was seen greeting people as he conducted a roadshow after the conclusion of the special session. The people also showered flower petals on him as a symbol of respect and felicitation.
Several leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hailed the landmark decision.
Prem Chand Aggarwal, Uttarakhand Minister and BJP leader, said that once the law comes into force, all ill-societal norms will be eradicated.

"When the law is implemented, all ill societal norms will be eradicated and women will be empowered... Everyone supported it because this was a topic that could not be opposed. The bill will first go to the governor, then to the president, and then we will implement it in the state as a law," Aggarwal told ANI.

The city of Dehradun was, meanwhile, lit up with fireworks by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers, after the successful passage of the UCC bill.
The bill contains the laws relating to marriage, divorce, succession, live-in relationships, and related matters. Among the many proposals, the Uniform Civil Code Bill makes it compulsory for live-in relationships to be registered under the law.Once the proposed UCC Bill is in place, "live-in relationships" will have to get registered under the law within 1 month from the "date of entering into the relationship.
"To live in a live-in relationship, adults will have to obtain consent from their parents. The bill also imposes a complete ban on child marriage and introduces a uniform process for divorce. The Code provides equal rights to women of all religions in their ancestral property.As per the UCC Bill, the age for marriage will be 18 for women and 21 for men in all communities. Marriage registration is mandatory in all religions and marriages without registration will be invalid.
No divorce petition will be allowed to be filed after one year of marriage. Highlighting the ceremonies for marriage, the proposed UCC Bill noted that marriage may be solemnised or contracted between a man and a woman in accordance with religious beliefs, practices, customary rites and ceremonies including but not limited to "Saptapadt", "Ashirvad", "Nikah", "Holy Union", "Anand Karaj" under the Anand Marriage Act 1909 as well as under, but not limited to, The Special Marriage Act, 1954 and Arya Marriage Validation Act, 1937.
However, nothing contained in the proposed UCC Bill will be applied to the members of any Scheduled Tribes within the meaning of clause (25) of Article 366 read with Article 342 of the Constitution of India and the persons and group of persons whose customary rights are protected under Part XXI of the Constitution of India.