The BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena, who introduced the private member’s bill on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in parliament on Friday, said the party leadership had approved of him moving the bill and he believed that the central government had every intention of going through with it in letter and spirit.
Meena said the BJP was committed to its agenda of implementing the UCC, and he was happy that his bill was introduced with a majority and with the “consent of the leadership”.
The Rajya Sabha MP and tribal leader from Rajasthan also cited examples of the courts taking a cognizance of the disparity in personal laws. “Recently, the Supreme Court and high courts have expressed concerns over the varied laws for the same things in the country. The issue of the UCC had come to the Constituent Assembly as well and Dr BR Ambedkar wanted to implement it but some had protested. So, it was put in Article 44 to be brought forth in future. The UCC is in favour of women and society,” he said.
Responding to whether the Centre could bring the UCC into action before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Meena said, “I think so. The rest is dependent on the party leadership. There have been states that have okayed the UCC and formed a committee. Take the example of Gujarat’s soon-to-be CM, Bhupendra Patel, who has announced that the state will implement the UCC.”
Did he think that the government was testing waters and tracking the mood of the people before implementing the UCC? “It is not to track the mood. It is our committed agenda just like the abrogation of articles 35A and 370, construction of Ram Janmabhoomi temple; and the party is fulfilling whatever is on the agenda and, I believe, that the party will implement this as well,” Meena said.
The MP, while speaking on the need of the UCC, said India had a Constitution and it should have one law without discrimination based on religion, caste and other aspects.
“Like in our country, we have different laws for different religions. Under shariat, a Muslim can marry four women but, even in our neighbouring country Pakistan, the man first needs the first wife’s approval to marry the second. And if a Hindu weds again while already being married, they will be imprisoned. This disparity in the law should not exist and it does in cases of property, divorce, adoption and other aspects that affect lives,” he said.
The UCC is a directive principle, which means there will be uniform personal laws for the entire country. To date, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Assam have formed a committee to implement it while the BJP had promised the same for Himachal Pradesh if it returned to power in the hill state.
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