DEHRADUN : The Uttarakhand cabinet on Saturday deferred its approval for the draft of the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC). It will now be placed before the cabinet on February 6, government sources said.The state government formed a special committee to prepare the UCC draft. The committee handed over the final draft to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on February 2. It was expected that the cabinet meeting scheduled for February 3 would approve the draft. The buzz is that before the draft is placed on the floor of the House on February 6, the government will call a cabinet meeting to put its seal of approval.Official sources said that during the February 3 cabinet meeting, the UCC proposal was not brought up to enable the ministers to study it thoroughly before it is presented as a bill before the state Assembly.Sources said CM Dhami has already made it clear that intensive deliberations should be held before the bill is presented and passed in the Assembly.The government is now engaged in a thorough legal scrutiny of the document. The detailed review aims to ensure that it is completely satisfied with the draft before its approval by the cabinet.CM Dhami has rejected the Opposition objections to the proposed legislation. “This is not a ploy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but a commitment to deliver on the pledges made to the public in the 2022 Assembly polls,” Dhami said.Meanwhile, political parties and religious organisations in Uttarakhand have strongly reacted to the draft. State Congress’ senior vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana accused the government of pursuing a divisive agenda in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.In Dehradun, chief qazi Mohammad Ahmed Qasmi said the government possesses the authority to make decisions as it deems fit. “But after the execution of such decisions, it will bear the responsibility for any damage,” he said.
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