The Uttarakhand government is planning to call a special Assembly session in the second half of this month, during which it intends to pass one of two much-awaited Bills — either the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), or a proposal for 10% horizontal reservation for statehood agitators and their dependents — according to sources in the government.
A Secretary-level official confirmed to The Hindu that orders have been issued to start preparations for the special session, though its dates have still not been decided.
“We have been told that we should be ready for the session which can be called anytime after the Deepavali holiday. The Bills that may get tabled in the session are either UCC or reservation for Rajya Andolankaris (statehood agitators) and their dependents,” he said.
State UCC draft ready
The official also confirmed that the committee formed by the Uttarakhand government in June last year to examine pathways for the implementation of UCC in the State has not yet submitted its final draft. “But the committee too has been asked to be ready with the same,” the official confirmed.
He added that the State cabinet, in September this year, had already granted approval to present the Bill proposing 10% horizontal reservation for statehood agitators and their dependents.
The State’s UCC draft has taken all aspects of the issue into account, from gender equality to the elimination of arbitrariness and discrimination, from uniform laws on property rights to adoption rules, retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, who is heading the UCC committee, said on Friday. She also confirmed that the draft of the UCC is ready. Once at the printing stage, it will be submitted to the State government, she added.
Widespread consultation
Apart from Justice Desai, who also heads the Delimitation Commission, the UCC committee’s members include Justice Pramod Kohli, social worker Manu Gaur, who heads the Taxpayers Association of Bharat, retired IAS officer Shatrughan Singh, and Doon University Vice-Chancellor Surekha Dangwal.
Around 2.15 lakh written submissions, including mass submissions (with multiple signatories) were received by the committee, which has also met over 20,000 people in person via public outreach programmes on the UCC. The committee also interacted with the representatives of political parties and State statutory commissions, as well as with leaders of various religious denominations.
One of the committee members told The Hindu that the draft, which is published and ready, has not touched any religious customs or rituals of any caste or community. “The draft is totally women-oriented and aims to bring men and women on a par,” the panel member said, adding that from marriageable age to live-in relationships, property rights, and inheritances laws, all aspects have been included in the draft.
Statehood agitators’ demand
Speaking about the statehood agitators’ demand for reservations in jobs, an official in the government said that various organisations that had fought for statehood, like the Uttarakhand Sanyukt Sangharsh Smiti and Uttarakhand Rajya Andolankari Manch, have been persistently raising this demand.
Previous governments, including those led by the Congress’ N.D. Tiwari and Harish Rawat, as well as by the BJP’s Trivendra Singh Rawat, had promised to grant such reservations. However, nothing concrete materialised until Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, earlier this year, established a Cabinet subcommittee to decide the matter.
