Ahmedabad, March 19 -- The Gujarat government on Wednesday introduced a landmark bill in the state assembly that seeks to replace religion-specific personal laws with a single Uniform Civil Code (UCC) covering marriage, divorce, succession, live-in relationships and related matters for all residents. The bill, introduced by deputy chief minister Harsh Sanghavi, was drafted on the basis of recommendations from a committee chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai. Titled the Gujarat Uniform Civil Code, 2026, the 201-page legislation aims to bring uniformity, gender justice and simplification to personal laws across the state. It will be taken up for discussion and passage on March 24, a day before the Budget session ends, said assembly secretary C B Pandya. "The UCC Bill has been introduced in the assembly. Further discussion will take place in the House. Everyone is welcome to share their views. UCC Bill is a very important legislation. Our government has decided to bring this Bill to ensure that every citizen gets equal rights," agriculture minister Jitu Vaghani told reporters after a Cabinet meeting. The code explicitly does not apply to members of Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution or to groups whose customary rights are protected under Part XXI of the Constitution. It will come into force on a date to be notified by the state government in the official gazette and will apply to the entire state of Gujarat as well as to residents of the state living anywhere in India or abroad who meet the defined criteria of residency, including those born in Gujarat, owning property there, employed by state or central government bodies, or continuously residing in the state for the last ten years....