The Congress and its allies Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) opposed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) with the loudest voices among the opposition parties when it was brought up for discussion in the parliamentary standing committee on personnel, public grievances, law, and justice.
According to MPs who attended the parliamentary panel meeting, the Uddhav Thackeray faction wanted the 22nd Law Commission of India to release its report first, while the Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi (BRS) remained neutral.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Eknath Shinde-faction of the Shiv Sena supported the UCC.
Sushil Kumar Modi, the chairman of the parliamentary panel, and other BJP MPs advocated for the exclusion of the tribal regions and the northeastern states from the UCC even if they supported its implementation.
The panel was hearing views on the UCC from the Department of Legal Affairs, the Legislative Department, and the Law Commission of India.
Only 17 MPs from the BJP, Congress, BRS, Shiv Sena, BSP, and DMK attended Monday’s meeting, which opened with 22nd Law Commission member secretary Khetrabasi Biswal’s hour-long presentation of its 2018 consultation paper, Reform of Family Law.
When MPs inquired why the 22nd Law Commission was seeking thoughts on UCC again after doing so in its 2018 consultation paper, an official answered that at the time, they had simply issued a consultation document, according to an MP who attended the discussion.
According to another MP who attended the meeting, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and MP Sanjay Raut said, “Law Commission should first present its findings for parties to review before making an educated judgment”.
According to reports, the BRS has likewise taken this stance.
Meanwhile, parliamentary sources reported Congress’ stance as “UCC was not required at this time, instead recommending that each statute be codified and discriminatory aspects be removed”
On June 14, the 22nd Law Commission of India solicited input from religious organizations and the general public on the question of a UCC. The commission has set a 30-day deadline for public comment on the matter.
A Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is a set of laws that apply to all people of a country regardless of faith. A common code is likely to cover personal laws as well as rules relating to inheritance, adoption, and succession.
The implementation of a UCC has been included in previous BJP election manifestos, including the Karnataka assembly elections in May.
Uttarakhand, which is governed by the BJP, is already developing its own common code
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