New Delhi: The Congress and ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) have been essentially the most strident strident among the many opposition events to oppose the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which got here up for dialogue within the parliamentary standing committee on personnel, public grievances, regulation and justice Monday, ThePrint has learnt.
Whereas the Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi (BRS) remained non-committal, the Bahujan Samaj Get together (BSP) and the Eknath Shinde-faction of the Shiv Sena supported the UCC whereas the Uddhav Thackeray faction wished the twenty second Legislation Fee of India to carry out its report first, MPs who attended the parliamentary panel assembly informed ThePrint.
Whereas BJP MPs supported the implementation of UCC, a few of them, together with parliamentary panel chairman Sushil Kumar Modi, urged that the northeastern states and tribal areas must be exempted from it.
“They’re ruled by the sixth schedule and Article 371 (of the Structure), which provides them particular safety. This must be maintained,” a BJP MP informed thePrint, justifying the stand.
The panel was listening to the views of the Division of Authorized Affairs, Legislative Division and the Legislation Fee of India on the UCC. Out of the 30 MPs who’re members of the parliamentary panel, solely 17 MPs from BJP, Congress, BRS, Shiv Sena, BSP, and DMK attended Monday’s assembly, which started with twenty second Legislation Fee member secretary Khetrabasi Biswal’s hour-long presentation of its 2018 session paper, Reform of Household Legislation.
When MPs requested why the twenty second Legislation Fee had sought feedback on UCC once more after it had already accomplished so on its 2018 session paper, the official mentioned that at the moment, they’d solely come out with a session paper, in response to an MP who attended the assembly.
“The fee knowledgeable the MPs that it had not given its suggestion again then. It’s solely now that it sought feedback from stakeholders on the overview of private legal guidelines,” the MP informed ThePrint.
A second MP who attended the assembly quoted Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut as insisting that the Legislation Fee ought to first submit its report for events to undergo earlier than taking an knowledgeable resolution.
The BRS can be learnt to have taken this stand.
“The BRS MP mentioned that the Legislation Fee ought to come out with their report first. There’s a variety of clarification that’s required. Solely after going via the report, will or not it’s doable for the get together to take a stand,” the MP informed ThePrint.
Parliamentary sources, in the meantime, quoted Congress as saying that the UCC was not required at this stage, as an alternative suggesting that every regulation be codified and discriminatory provisions weeded out.
On 14 June, the twenty second Legislation Fee of India had sought the views of spiritual organisations and the general public on the problem of a UCC. The fee has set a 30-day deadline for suggestions on the problem.
A Uniform Civil Code (UCC) usually means having a standard regulation for all residents of the nation that’s not primarily based on faith. Private legal guidelines and legal guidelines associated to inheritance, adoption and succession are more likely to be lined by a standard code.
Implementation of a UCC has been a part of successive BJP election manifestos, together with throughout the Karnataka meeting elections in Could.
Uttarakhand, which has a BJP authorities, is already framing its personal frequent code.
Additionally Learn: UCC can strengthen nation, however BJP elevating it to cowl up its failures, says Mayawati
‘Guarantee private legal guidelines don’t contract basic rights’
Congress MP Vivek Tankha, who needed to go away the assembly halfway, submitted a written assertion to parliamentary get together chairperson Sushil Modi. He later tweeted the letter, by which he mentioned that the 2018 session paper, which states that whereas coping with the problem of UCC, the Structure of India, as a complete, it have to be borne in thoughts “as uniformity will are available in battle with many provisions of the Structure of India”.
“Specifically, the sixth schedule and provisions contained in Articles 371 (A) to (I) of the Structure. It emphatically states that whereas coping with the problem it have to be stored in thoughts that every one articles of the Structure of India should be given impact to, to keep away from the extremely vires of the identical,” his letter states.
He mentioned he concurred with the views of the fee that within the absence of any consensus on a UCC, one of the best ways ahead could also be to protect the variety of private legal guidelines “however on the similar time be sure that private legal guidelines don’t contradict basic rights assured underneath the Structure of India”.
“I reiterate the fee’s view that it’s important, at this stage, to cope with legal guidelines which are discriminatory relatively than offering UCC, which is neither essential nor fascinating at this stage,” Tankha’s letter states.
The DMK additionally questioned the twenty second Legislation Fee’s resolution to reopen public session on UCC after the problem was studied in depth for 2 years by the twenty first Legislation Fee.
“To the general public at giant, it appears a response to the decision of the ruling BJP get together on the Centre to implement the UCC, with one eye on the 2024 Basic Elections,” DMK MP P. Wilson mentioned in a separate written assertion submitted to the parliamentary panel chairperson.
DMK opposed the UCC on the bottom that it desecrates a holy sacrament like marriage. A union between believers, it mentioned, must be inside the area of spiritual establishments whereas civil codes may be utilized to atheists or interreligious marriages, as is already the case of the Particular Marriage Act, 1954.
One set of private legal guidelines, Wilson mentioned, can’t be utilized with “brute pressure to all religions, sub sects and denominations, else it should destroy their uniqueness and variety”.
Sushil Kumar Modi informed ThePrint that Monday’s assembly was simply to make the members conscious of the topic.
“It was an introductory assembly”, he mentioned, including that the Legislation Fee of India informed the panel that thus far, they’ve response from 19 lakh folks to their draft.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
Additionally Learn: Uniform Civil Code is as previous as British rule. It might assist in higher implementation of regulation