A fresh row has erupted after the BJP government in poll-bound Gujarat on Saturday took a decision to form a committee on the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state. The committee is to be headed by a retired High Court judge and will evaluate all aspects of the implementation.
Gujarat minister Harsh Sanghvi said the state cabinet cleared a proposal to constitute the committee during its meeting. Implementation of the code would mean a single set of secular laws applicable to all religions and will apply to inheritance, marriage and divorce laws across religions.
The implementation of the code has found its way into the saffron party’s manifesto at several occasions. It was one of Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami’s election promises ahead of Assembly polls earlier this year and the BJP-ruled central government had also earlier filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court calling for a Uniform Civil Code to be implemented in the country.
The UCC would mean several changes for the Muslim Personal Law including the abolition of polygamy practices. While the code has been hailed as a “historic decision” by the BJP, it has elicited different reactions from opposition leaders.
Owaisi Slams Decision
Slamming the decision, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi has claimed that the party is raising the issue of Uniform Civil Code to get votes in the forthcoming Gujarat Assembly elections and to push its Hindutva agenda.
Addressing an election rally on Saturday at Vadgam in Banaskantha district of Gujarat, the Hyderabad MP asked if the “exclusion” of Muslims and Christians from income tax benefits for Hindu Undivided Family was not against the principle of equality.
“Isn’t it true that Babasaheb Ambedkar said the Uniform Civil Code should be voluntary and not mandatory?…But the BJP only wants to move ahead with its Hindutva agenda and it has the habit of raising such issues before elections to get votes,” he alleged. A law commission had in 2018 said the UCC was neither necessary nor desirable, he said.
“For a Muslim, marriage is a contract, for a Hindu it is living forever after, for a Christian it is ‘I do’. This is India’s pluralism which has been made possible through Articles 25, 26, 14, 19 and 20 (of the Constitution). Can anyone make a law against Article 29 (which protects the interests of minority groups) by enacting the UCC?” he asked.
“I would like to ask the prime minister why Muslims and Christians are excluded from the benefit of income tax rebate under Hindu Undivided Family? Isn’t it against the right to equality?” he further asked.
BJP Bluffing, Says Kejriwal
AAP chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, who is in Gujarat to campaign for the upcoming polls said that while he welcomed the implementation, the BJP is bluffing, citing that it had made the same promise in the Uttarakhand elections but hadn’t acted on it after winning.
“After winning the election, the committee went back home. Now, a few days before the Gujarat election, they have formed another committee. This committee (members) will also go back home after the election,” he claimed.
Kejriwal was speaking at a press conference in Bhavnagar, where he said that while the Uniform Civil Code should be enforced, as Article 44 of the Constitution clearly states that it is the responsibility of the government to do so, it should be done with the consent of and in consultation with all communities.
“In Article 44 of the Constitution, it is clearly written that it is the responsibility of the government to frame the Uniform Civil Code. So, the government should frame a Uniform Civil Code with the consent of all communities and by taking them together,” he said.
Congress Leader Calls it Gimmick
Meanwhile, the Congress party reacted to the announcement as well, saying that people will not be misled by this decision.
The state legislature has no power to make such laws, senior Gujarat Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia said, calling it a “gimmick”.
“This gimmick is aimed at misleading the public who are suffering due to inflation and joblessness and a host of other problems because of the failure of the government. The power to implement the Uniform Civil Code lies with the Centre. Personal laws were passed by Parliament and the Gujarat Assembly does not have the power to make this law,” Modhwadia said at a press conference.
The Election Commission is likely to announce schedule for the Gujarat Assembly polls this week.
(With inputs from agencies)
Read all the Latest Politics News here
Comments
0 comment