Gujarat has become the second state in India, after Uttarakhand, to move ahead with implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) after President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the legislation.
The Gujarat government will now frame and announce the rules for implementing the UCC. The law will come into effect in the state after the rules are notified.
The Gujarat Assembly passed the UCC Bill in March following a seven-and-a-half-hour discussion, making Gujarat the second state after Uttarakhand to pass legislation on the Uniform Civil Code.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said the UCC aims to provide equal rights to all citizens. Opposition parties, however, criticised the legislation, calling it “anti-Muslim” and alleging that it was passed for electoral gains.