Gujarat panel on uniform code held discussions with 38 Muslim bodies so far Govt

Ahmedabad, Aug 6 (PTI) A Gujarat government committee tasked with drafting the Uniform Civil Code for the state has held discussions with 38 Muslim organisations so far, health minister Rushikesh Patel said on Wednesday.
    The committee, headed by Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Desai (retired), met Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday and briefed him on the progress made on UCC.
    Patel, who doubles up as the state government spokesperson, said the Desai panel has received an overwhelming number of suggestions from citizens and organisations.
    "During the meeting on Tuesday, the committee shared details of their work with the chief minister. They informed the chief minister that committee members had travelled to each of 33 districts and gathered feedback from political and religious leaders," Patel told reporters.
    He said the panel has received 19 lakh suggestions till date, while people have expressed their views on a dedicated website, via e-mails, and postal letters.
    "The panel held a meeting with the representatives of 38 different Muslim organisations, including 21 in Surat and 17 in Delhi, to understand their view (on UCC)," Patel said.
    He said the deadline for completing the process was April 15.
    The government will launch the process to convert the report into legislation once it is submitted to the chief minister.
    Justice Desai (retd) on Tuesday told reporters that the draft UCC report may be submitted within a month.
    The BJP government on February 4 this year formed a five-member committee to assess the need for a UCC in the state and draft a bill.
    The panel was expected to submit its report within 45 days after examining various aspects related to UCC and taking views of religious leaders as well as people from different walks of life. Later, it was given extensions.
    The other four committee members -- retired IAS officer C L Meena, advocate R C Kodekar, former Vice Chancellor of Veer Narmad South Gujarat University Dakshesh Thakar and social activist Gita Shroff -- were also present at the meeting, besides senior officials.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)