New Delhi: The Centre has asked the Law Commission of India to examine whether a uniform civil code can be implemented, sources said. The move, ahead of the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, is seen as one trying to address a core issue on the Sangh Parivar’s agenda.
The law ministry’s Department of Legal Affairs has asked the Law Commission of India to submit a report on the issue. While the move has been welcomed by the BJP, it has been opposed by the Muslim Majlis and some activists.
The implementation of a common civil code in the country has been part of the BJP’s election manifesto over the past several years.
However, the National Democratic Alliance, when it came to power in 1998 and 1999, and then under Narendra Modi in 2014, had till now kept contentious issues, like scrapping of Article 370 and construction of a Ram temple, on the backburner.
Significantly, the Supreme Court had recently said it would prefer a wider debate, in public as well as in court, before taking a decision on the constitutional validity of “triple talaq”, which many complain is abused by Muslim men to arbitrarily divorce their wives.
The government is likely to inform the Supreme Court of India of its decision to refer the matter of a uniform civil code to the Law Commission when the matter comes up in September.
BJP: UCC opposed due to vote-bank politics
BJP said a uniform civil code has been opposed due to vote bank politics despite it finding a mention in the Constitution.
“There should be an open debate over it. The Constitution calls for it and those who oppose it only show their intolerance to the Constitution. We have always advocated it. There should be a uniform civil code.
“It has been opposed due to vote-bank politics,” BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said. All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen’s Asaduddin Owaisi said the move of the government was an attempt to move towards turning India into a “Hindu Rashtra”.
