Don’t thrust Civil Code: Congress to BJP

New Delhi: Following speculation that the Centre might now move towards bringing in a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), the Congress on Friday made it clear that it “cannot be thrust on people, but has to be done through a consensus”.

“The very fact of the UCC is that it cannot be forced upon you, it has to be optional and not compulsory,” Congress spok-esperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, addressing the Chhatra Sansad here.

He was backed by Thirvananthpuram MP Shashi Tharoor. “As Nehruji said… it cannot be forced upon people; you must build a consensus by taking every community along before you adopt it,” he tweeted.

While releasing the BJP’s Lok Sabha poll manifesto, senior leader Rajnath Singh had last year said that the party was committed towards implementing a UCC.

BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena’s private members’ bill in the Rajya Sabha recently sought to kickstart the process, but it could not be introduced as he was absent when his name was called out.

Four days later, the BJP issued a three-line whip in both Houses asking all its members to be present. This triggered speculation on the legislation the government was planning to introduce.