Soon after the Gujarat government announced to form a committee to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the poll-bound state, Union Minister Parshottam Rupala said that with the implementation of UCC civil disputes like inheritance will be easy to settle. Ahead of the state Assembly election to be held later this year, Gujarat on Saturday announced to form a committee to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state. Announcing the forming of the UCC panel, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi described the decision as "historic".


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"Under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, CM Bhupendra Patel has taken a historic decision in the cabinet meeting today - of forming a committee for implementing the Uniform Civil Code in the state," said Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi.


Rupala while highlighting the need to implement UCC in the state said, "Uniform Civil Code is very important to establish equality among all in the country. UCC will prevent any kind of discrimination based on caste, sex, religion, etc. The laws will be the same for all. After UCC is implemented, it will be easy to settle civil disputes like inheritance, etc. There will be no discrimination between a brother and sister when it comes to inheriting a property".


According to the Union Minister, there should be one law throughout the country."The committee will be headed by a retired high court judge and will have three to four members," Rupala added. The decision was taken in the cabinet meeting.The committee is likely to be formed under the chairmanship of a retired Supreme Court Judge or High Court judge. Speaking about the UCC panel, state Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said, "An important decision has been taken today in state cabinet meeting to form a high-level committee under the chairmanship of a retired Supreme Court/HC judge to examine the need for a Uniform Civil Code in the state and prepare a draft for this code.


"Earlier the Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh governments had announced their decision to implement the Uniform Civil Code.Uniform Civil Code is a proposal in India to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which apply to all citizens equally regardless of their religion, gender and sexual orientation.Many political leaders have backed the UCC saying that it will bring equality in the country.


However, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has termed it "an unconstitutional and anti-minorities move", and called the rhetoric for bringing the law an attempt by Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Central governments to divert the attention from the concerns of inflation, economy, and rising unemployment.The Centre earlier this month told the Supreme Court that it could not direct Parliament to frame or enact any law on Uniform Civil Code in the country. The Ministry of Law and Justice in its affidavit stated that the matter of policy is for the elected representatives of the people to decide and no direction in this regard can be issued by the Centre.


 "It is for the legislature to enact or not to enact a piece of legislation," the ministry told the apex court.Notably, in Bharatiya Janata Party`s 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto, BJP promised the implementation of UCC if it comes to power.