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The Hindu
19 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Uttarakhand Assembly clears amendments to UCC and anti-conversion Bills, new minority education law
The Uttarakhand Assembly cleared nine Bills amid uproar on Wednesday (August 20, 2025), including amendments to controversial Bills on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and religious conversion, and an equally controversial legislation related to minority education. Among the Bills passed in the Assembly session held at Gairsain, the summer capital of Uttarakhand, was the Uniform Civil Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which increases punishments with regard to illegal live-in relationships. The amendment to Section 380(2) says a married person entering a live-in relationship can be punished with jail term of up to seven years and fine. The government has also amended sub-sections of Section 387 which now says getting into a relationship by force, pressure or fraud will attract imprisonment of up to seven years and fine. The time limit for marriage registration, which needed to be done in six months, was extended to one year. A new Section was also inserted into the UCC. Under Section 390-A, the Registrar-General will have the power to cancel any registration related to marriage, divorce, live-in relationship or inheritance. The Freedom of Religion and Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion (Amendment) Bill, 2025, allows jail sentences ranging from three years to life term for persons found guilty of 'forced conversions'. Previously, the maximum jail term for a 'forced conversion' was 10 years. The Bill defines 'allurement' as 'any gift, gratification, easy money or material benefit, whether in cash or kind, employment, or by invoking divine displeasure'. Human trafficking and making threats to life attract sentences ranging from 20 years to life term under the 2025 Bill. Accused can also be booked for 'false promises of marriage' under the Bill. Hiding one's religion with the intention of marriage will attract imprisonment of three to 10 years, and a fine of ₹3 lakh. Speaking ill of one religion and praising another, and propaganda on social or digital media, will also be considered as participation in religious conversion. The government faced maximum opposition when passing the Minority Educational Institutions Bill, 2025, which extends the benefits of minority status to educational institutions of Sikh, Jain, Christian, Parsi, and Buddhist communities. With the passage of the Bill, all madrasas running in the State will have to seek affiliation from the Uttarakhand Education Board by July 1, 2026, and then apply for minority status with the Uttarakhand State Authority for Minority Education (USAME). Only if the necessary conditions are fulfilled will the institutions be granted minority educational status and unrecognised madrasas will be shut down. The government, however, deleted an earlier proposal on the request of Kashipur MLA Trilok Singh Cheema, who had sought the removal of the 15% reservation cap for non-minority students in educational institutions run by minorities. Apart from these, the Assembly also cleared the Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2025; Uttarakhand-Uttar Pradesh Shri Badrinath and Shri Kedarnath Temples (Amendment) Bill, 2025; Uttarakhand Private Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2025; Uttarakhand Witness Protection Repeal Bill, 2025; Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2025; and Uttarakhand Loktantra Senani Samman Bill, 2025. The five-day Assembly session, which started on August 19, ended sine die within two days, amid protests by the Opposition leaders who demanded a debate on disaster management issues and law and order in the State under Rule 310. The demands were made citing the recent flash flood in Dharali, where around 68 people went missing and the alleged abduction of five of Congress members during recently held panchyat election. Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami presented the supplementary budget of ₹5,315.89 crore during the three-hour session on Wednesday (August 20, 2025).
Indian Express
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Claims of a rigged poll, nine key Bills, and a stormy monsoon session in Uttarakhand
After it opened on a stormy note on Tuesday, the Uttarakhand Assembly's monsoon session in Gairsain was suspended indefinitely after the Congress spent the second day protesting against the alleged rigging of the zila panchayat election. Scheduled for four days, the session wound up at noon after nine bills were passed through a voice vote. All this while, the opposition was in the Well of the House, sloganeering against the Nainital zila panchayat election, in which five members were allegedly kidnapped to keep them away from voting. On Tuesday, the election results declared the BJP as the winner, narrowly defeating the Congress by a vote. This continued through the session on Wednesday, even as several crucial Bills, including the Minority Education Institutions and Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bills, were passed. A communication by the BJP said that the stipulation mandating a cap on the number of non-minority students at a minority educational institution was deleted after factoring in the dissent of Kashipur BJP MLA Trilok Singh Cheema. The 70-member assembly has 20 Congress, one BSP, two independents, and 47 BJP MLAs. The current session was being conducted in Chamoli's Gairsain, the summer capital of the state. After the session was called off, Yashpal Arya and Pritam Singh wrote to Speaker Ritu Khanduri Bhushan, tendering resignation from the Business Advisory Committee. In the letter, the duo said that over the past several Assembly sessions, the atmosphere in the Business Advisory Committee has been one of arbitrariness based on the majority strength the BJP enjoyed. For the current session, as per the tentative agenda that the Assembly had circulated to the members prior to the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee, the session was to be convened from August 19 at least until August 22, the letter said. 'In the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee held on August 18, it was decided to hold proceedings only for August 19 and to convene another meeting after the sitting of August 19. However, no such meeting was called on August 19,' it said. Further, the leaders said that the government ended the session indefinitely in the forenoon. 'Before taking this decision, the government did not convene the Business Advisory Committee meeting nor take its members into confidence. It is evident that the government is adopting a dictatorial approach in running the House. To adjourn the Assembly convened at Bhararisain within two days is a great betrayal of the people of Uttarakhand,' they added, resigning from the post of members of the Committee. On Tuesday night, the opposition MLAs had spent the night in the House, marking their protest. At a press conference later in the day, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said that since the first day, the opposition had been attempting to sabotage the session. 'The question hour was completely blown off. Discussions under the rules of procedure and conduct of business couldn't be initiated because of the disruption. The biggest discussion should be on the disaster in the state as many parts, such as Dharali and Pauri, have been reeling under distress. We wanted to discuss this, and they knew that if we did this, they wouldn't have much to say. They tore up the agenda papers, press notes and broke the mics. We are passing important Bills, those of madrasas and anti-conversion… Shouldn't this be encouraged? We were going to discuss this,' he said. Emphasising the 'necessity' of such action, the CM said, 'We have brought in action like imprisonment for life because we need to stop demographic changes. We have to ensure that the lives of our sisters and daughters are not destroyed and their dignity is protected.' Dhami also said that the government was working to address the law and order situation in the wake of the Nainital zila panchayat election. The Congress condemned the suspension of the Assembly, alleging that it is an anti-Gairsain stance taken by the BJP government. Senior vice-president (organisation), Suryakant Dhasmana, said that opposition legislators had to discuss issues relating to their constituencies. 'The law and order situation in the state is deteriorating, and most districts are facing natural disasters. The MLAs wanted the House to discuss these issues under rule 310, but were not allowed. The BJP is responsible for the pandemonium,' he said.
