Dehradun(PTI): The BJP if re-elected to power in Uttarakhand will constitute a committee to prepare a draft Uniform Civil Code soon after its new government is sworn in, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami promised on Saturday.

The panel will comprise legal experts, retired people, intellectuals and other stakeholders, the chief minister announced on the last day of campaigning for the 70 assembly seats in the state going to polls on February 14.

The ambit of the committee will cover issues related to marriage, divorce, landed property and succession, he said in a video statement.

"It will be a significant step towards fulfilling the dreams of India's Constitution makers and will realise the spirit of the Constitution. It will also be an effective step towards Article 44 of the Indian Constitution which presents the concept of equitable law for all citizens of society regardless of their religion," Dhami said in Hindi.

From time to time, the Supreme Court, too, has underscored the need for a Uniform Civil Code and also expressed concern over no steps being taken in this direction, he said.

He said the BJP government in Uttarakhand will derive inspiration for the decision from Goa which has set an example before the country by implementing a common civil code. A common civil code will promote social amity and gender equality besides strengthening women empowerment, Dhami added.

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Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.

Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.

He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.

Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.

He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.

Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.

He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.