Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale on Tuesday criticised the rules for couples in a live-in relationship under Uttarakhand’s proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill, saying that the “BJP has now stepped into people’s bedrooms.”
According to the proposed UCC in Uttarakhand, if individuals stay in a live-in relationship for more than a month without submitting a statement, they could be punished and sent to jail for up to three months or fined Rs 10,000 or both.
Reacting to the proposed bill, The TMC leader in a social media post on X wrote, “This shocking provision also means that a man and a woman merely living together will have to prove that they’re not in a live-in relationship in case some vigilante or lunatic files a complaint. The BJP has now stepped into your bedrooms and can investigate you whenever it feels like.”
Similarly, Congress leader Shama Mohamed said that the bill was a “shameful attempt by the BJP government to barge into the personal life of consenting adults”.
In a post on X, she wrote, “The Uniform Civil Code Bill tabled in Uttarakhand Assembly mandates registration of ‘live-in relationships’ within a period of 1 month from the date of entering into the relationship, or else they will be jailed for 6 months. This is a shameful attempt by the BJP government to barge into the personal life of consenting adults. The state has no business policing the private life of citizens!”
UCC RULES FOR COUPLES IN LIVE-IN RELATIONSHIPS
The UCC, which was tabled in the Uttarakhand Assembly on Tuesday, has made it mandatory for individuals to register live-in relationships by submitting statements before the Registrar. Those who fail to adhere to the rules will face a jail term of up to three months or a fine of Rs 10,000 or both.
The Code has stated that the state government may, by notification in the Uttarakhand Gazette, empower a Registrar to act as the Registrar.
The Registrar will have to maintain registers for statements of live-in relationships and statements of termination of live-in relationships and such other registers and in such manner as may be prescribed.
If passed, Uttarakhand will be the first state after independence to have a Uniform Civil Code.
Meanwhile, opposition leaders have voiced their dissent against the UCC, saying that it was not possible to implement the bill across the country.
Speaking on the bill, AIUDF president and MP Badruddin Ajmal said, “State Assemblies have to bring something shiny when the government becomes a failure. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma too does this from time to time. They want to please PM Modi as they want to continue as the CM for some time. This Bill should be dumped in the dustbin.”
On the other hand, Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi said, “The Uttarakhand government has failed on all issues including women’s safety and law and order in the state. The state government can try this as well, but BJP will still lose in Uttarakhand in Lok Sabha elections.”
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