Ahmedabad, Oct. 3 -- President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Gujarat Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, 2026, making it the second state in independent India after Uttarakhand to codify a common set of personal laws. The state government will notify the rules for the code, after which the law will come into force. The legislation, passed after an eight-hour debate on March 24, exempts the state's Scheduled Tribe (ST) population. Chief minister Bhupendra Patel tabled it a week after a panel headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai submitted its report. Justice Desai had previously headed the committee that drafted the Uttarakhand code. Moving the Bill, Patel had said, "This Bill has been introduced for the sisters and daughters of Gujarat. The state has taken a step towards accelerating the pace of a developed India by 2047 through the UCC. This Bill ensures that no community is discriminated against. It does not take away anyone's rights or restrict anyone's freedom." He added that the objective was social harmony and national unity, and noted that the Supreme Court had suggested a uniform code to secure women's rights. "It is our responsibility to safeguard the rights and dignity of daughters. In this Bill, respect for women is there. It is a matter of women's empowerment," he told the House. The Congress staged a walkout. Both Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party had requested that the Bill be referred to a select committee, while Opposition members termed the legislation anti-Muslim and alleged it was being brought for political gain-a charge the government rejected. The UCC is the third of the three core agendas the ruling BJP has championed since its inception, the other two being the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya and scrapping of Article 370 that gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir. With this, Gujarat has become the second state to enact a comprehensive UCC....