Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the is on its own preparing to bring a bill in the assembly to ban polygamy in the state.
Pending the decision on UCC, we want to take up one of the segments of the entire UCC, that is polygamy. We want to ban polygamy in Assam immediately, Sarma said.
TheAssam governmentset up a four-member expert committee in May to examine if polygamy can be banned in the state through a state law. The committee headed by retired Gauhati High Court judge, Justice Rumi Phukan, has been given a 60-day time limit to submit its report.
If the state expert committee gives its report before the decision on UCC, we want to introduce our bill for banning polygamy in the state in the upcoming assembly session in September. If for some reason we cannot do it in September, we will do it in the January session, Sarma said.
In the meantime, however, if the UCC is implemented, we do not have to take this action as the ban on polygamy will be there, he added.
Sarma said the UCC is a matter to be decided by Parliament, but the state can also take a call on it with the assent of the President.