Jammu, September 15: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said that the final decision on implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) rests with Parliament and cannot be determined independently by individual states or Union Territories.

Reacting to Uttarakhand becoming the first state to implement the UCC, Abdullah said states could take such steps only until a countrywide law is enacted.

“Let them do what they want to do till a law is enacted for the country. Finally, it is Parliament which will decide on this and not the individual UTs or States,” he told reporters in Jammu.

Abdullah said that any state-level implementation would not represent the final position unless Parliament enacted legislation applicable at the national level.

On the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, the Chief Minister said the legislative process was still underway and the Joint Parliamentary Committee was yet to complete its examination of the matter.

“Let the committee do its work, after that Parliament will discuss its report,” he said.

Abdullah also noted that Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had appeared before the committee and presented his views on the proposed legislation.