HAVING fulfilled its two major promises of building a Ram temple in Ayodhya and scrapping Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, the Narendra Modi Government has pushed the pedal on the third – a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for the country.
“The country cannot have separate laws for its people, and the Constitution obligates the State to secure a UCC for its citizens,” he said, addressing a party workers’ meet in Madhya Pradesh recently.
The PM lashed out at the Opposition for misleading the people on the issue. “Tell me, if in one house, there is one law for one family member and another for another family member, can that house function?” he asked.
He pointed out that UCC was part of the Directive Principles of the State Policy and the Supreme Court had exhorted successive governments to implement it. “But people hungry for vote-bank politics are the ones causing difficulties for our marginalised Muslim brothers and sisters,” he said.
PM Modi’s pitch has been endorsed by the Supreme Court and high constitutional functionaries. The apex court has dismissed a plea challenging state governments’ right to evolve a common code, clearing the way for latter to put the entire process on the fast track.
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar has said, the “time has come” to introduce UCC across the country. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has said the opponents of UCC display a lack of confidence in the country’s Constitution. The Parliamentary Standing Committee for Law and Justice has started discussion on the implementation of the UCC.
The BJP Government in Uttarakhand is finalising a draft UCC and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has briefed the PM and the Home Minister about its progress. Even the Opposition parties – including a section of the Congress, the AAP, the BSP and the Left – do not oppose the need for a code that ensures equality for all and gender justice. They only question its timing and allege the BJP is pushing a divisive agenda.
It is pertinent to recall that the Supreme Court, in its landmark verdict in Shah Bano case 45 years ago, had said: “It is also a matter of regret that Article 44 of our Constitution (directing the State to implement the UCC) has remained a dead letter.”
As the country celebrates Azadi ka Amrit Kaal, the time to fulfil that Constitutional mandate has come. PM Modi has done well to kick-start the process
