What next after UCC in Uttarakhand? Nationwide adoption only a matter of time, claims V-P Dhankhar

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar weighed in on the ideo of Uniform Civil Code on Monday. (File Photo: PTI)

It was only a mater of time before the entire country adopts the Uniform Civil Code, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Monday as Uttarakhand became the first Indian state to roll out the much-debated law.

"Today, a very auspicious sign has occurred. And that auspicious sign is, what the framers of the Constitution had envisioned and directed in the Constitution, specifically in Part 4 – the Directive Principles of State Policy…Article 44 of the Indian Constitution mandates and ordains that the state shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India," Dhankhar said while addressing participants of the Rajya Sabha internship programme in Delhi.

"I am sure it will only be a matter of time before the entire country adopts similar legislation," he further said, lauding the Uttarakhand government for adopting the UCC in the state.

Dhankhar, who serves as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, further termed the criticism against the UCC as "ignorance" and reminded the gathering that it was a mandate of the Indian Constitution.

"Some people, I would say out of ignorance, are criticising it. How can we criticise something which is a mandate of the Indian Constitution? Something that has to bring about gender equality…Politics has taken such a deep root in our minds that it has turned into poison. For political gain, people don’t hesitate to forsake nationalism, not even for a moment, without feeling concerned. How can anyone oppose the promulgation of the Uniform Civil Code," he said.

Dhankhar's remarks came on a day when Uttarakhand became the first state to adopt the Uniform Civil Code -- one year after the passage of the related Bill in the state Assembly. Earlier, a five-member expert panel led by retired judge Ranjana Prakash Desai submitted its report to the state government regarding the formulation of a Uniform Civil Code Bill.

On Monday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugurated the rules manual for the UCC and a portal for applications under the new rules. The government said it has developed online portals for citizens and officials, featuring Aadhaar-based verification, AI-based translation services in 22 Indian languages, and data integration across more than 13 departments or services, e.g., birth-death registrations, district and high courts, etc.

The training of officials for a seamless registration process on the UCC portal began on January 13.