Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], July 12 : West Bengal minister Arjun Singh on Saturday said the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) would be implemented not only in West Bengal but across the country, as the state government moves ahead with the process of drafting the legislation through an expert committee.
"UCC will be implemented not only in Bengal but across the entire country," Singh told reporters.
His remarks come after the West Bengal government constituted a nine-member expert committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai to examine and finalise the draft Uniform Civil Code. The state government plans to introduce the proposed legislation during the upcoming August Assembly session.
According to the state government, the proposed legislation will exempt indigenous communities. The committee comprises former judges, legal experts, bureaucrats and representatives from the social sector, who will examine various aspects of the draft law before submitting their recommendations.
Earlier, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had announced in the Assembly that the draft UCC would be introduced during the August session after completion of the necessary procedural steps. He had said the committee would study the proposed legislation and submit its recommendations before the government proceeds further.
Meanwhile, commenting on the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) action to freeze Trinamool Congress (TMC) bank accounts, Singh said, "In the coming days, the bank accounts of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee that are abroad will also be brought back to the country."
The remarks come after the ED froze Rs 440.42 crore lying in three HDFC Bank accounts of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) in connection with its probe into alleged dishonest financial dealings, unlawful collection of money and routing of suspected funds through certain party-linked bank accounts.
The TMC has strongly denied any wrongdoing, alleging that the ED's action was politically motivated. In a statement, the party said all funds in its bank accounts had been fully disclosed to the Election Commission of India and the Income Tax Department, and termed the freezing of its accounts "arbitrary and illegal."