Uttarakhand may be first state to implement UCC: Defence Minister

Lucknow: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated on Sunday that Uttarakhand is likely to be the first state in the country to implement a Uniform Civil Code.

A Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for Uttarakhand was one of the major election promises made by the BJP in the run-up to the state assembly elections in 2022.

Addressing a gathering at the "Uttarayani Kauthik" programme organised by people who hail from Uttarakhand, Rajnath Singh said, "I think if some state is going become first in implementing uniform civil code, it will be Uttarakhand." He, however, did not elaborate on this.

After being voted to power for a second consecutive term, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami gave his nod to setting up a committee headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Ranjana Prakash Desai to draft the UCC at the very first cabinet meeting headed by him.

Addressing the "Uttarayani Kauthik" event in Lucknow, the Union Defence minister said Uttarakhand is not only the land of gods and brave people but is now also being recognised as the land of development. The state has made remarkable progress in the last five years, he said, PTI reported.

Referring to the relations between Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, he said, "After Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh, there was bitterness in the relationship between the two states for some time. But this was never seen among the people." Mr Singh said even 10 years after Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh, there are many unresolved issues between the two states. But after the division of Uttar Pradesh, such issues did not happen, he said.

"The relations between Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand remained so lively that despite all the pending issues, there was no discord between the people living in the two states. Rather the ties kept getting stronger," he added.