New Delhi: Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Friday that his government was strongly mulling the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state to ensure equality.
Addressing his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Karnataka’s Shivamogga, the chief minister pointed out that the preamble of the Constitution speaks of equality and fraternity.
Reaffirming his commitment to implementing the UCC, he said, “..we have been talking about uniform civil code from the time of Deendayal Upadhyay. There is a serious thought going on in the country at the national and state level. There is also an intention to implement it when the right time comes.”
“We are also discussing how to do (implementation) it in our state,” Bommai added, telling the gathering that the state government will take all necessary measures to implement it.
“I would like to say very clearly that we not only expound things we believe in that can make people’s welfare possible and bring equality, but also will take all strong measures to implement it,” the chief minister explained.
Long-standing demand for UCC
The UCC is mentioned in Article 44 of the directive principles portion of the Indian constitution. The Article reads: “Uniform civil code for the citizens – The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.”
Currently, Goa is the only Indian state to have such a code.
‘Directive Principles of State Policy’ are not legally enforceable; the courts cannot enforce them and citizens cannot approach the court for them to be enforced.
Also read: What The Proposed Uniform Civil Code Should – And Shouldn’t – Be
The UCC has also been a long-standing poll promise of the saffron party. It can be thought to do away with the personal laws of diverse social groups in the country, particularly with regard to divorce, inheritance, adoption, and so on, irrespective of an individual’s faith. However, any significant clarification on what exactly a UCC would entail is still awaited.
The call for a uniform code has been made at various points, especially by those seeking equal treatment of all genders. However, concerns have been raised that governments run by the BJP want to use such a code to forward anti-Muslim legislation.
Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP, in its ‘sankalp patra’ (election manifesto), wrote that it was still committed to the implementation of the UCC.
The demand was also brought up in May this year by Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. At an event of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Dhami said the state cabinet had approved the formation of a committee to formulate a UCC for the state.
“We will soon implement the Uniform Civil Code. I would like other states to follow this template,” Dhami had said.
More recently, while announcing the party’s manifesto for the upcoming Himachal Pradesh elections, BJP national president J.P. Nadda promised implementation of UCC in Himachal Pradesh if the party is voted to power and said a committee will be formed for it.
Similarly, the party’s manifesto for poll-bound Gujarat also contains the promise to implement a UCC, according to the news agency PTI.
Also Read: The BJP is Promising a Uniform Civil Code, But How About a Uniform Moral Code First?
The legal aspect
It is important to note that the BJP-led Union government had in October opposed a plea before the Supreme Court seeking directions for the implementation of a UCC. What’s more, this plea had been filed by a BJP leader himself, lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay.
The government said the power to make laws is exclusively that of the legislature. The court cannot give a “mandamus to Parliament to make certain laws”.
Saying that Upadhyay’s petition is not maintainable, it said: “This is a matter of policy for the elected representatives of the people to decide and no direction in this regard can be issued by the court. It is for the legislature to enact or not enact a piece of legislation.”
The Union government had taken the same stand in a previous petition filed by Upadhyay before the Delhi high court and had asked the court then not to pass any judicial orders on the same.
Also read: The BJP Is Promising A Uniform Civil Code, But How About A Uniform Moral Code First?
In its affidavit to the Supreme Court, the Union government had written: “In view of the importance of the subject matter and sensitivity involved which requires in-depth study of the provisions of various personal laws governing different communities, the Central government requested the Law Commission of India to undertake examination of various issues relating to uniform civil code and to make recommendations.”
The issue had been referred to the 21st Law Commission, headed by Justice B.S. Chauhan in 2016. According to a report in Firstpost, the 21st Law Commission had opined that the implementation of a UCC was neither necessary nor desirable and recommended that instead, discriminatory laws should be dealt with.
“While diversity of Indian culture can and should be celebrated, specific groups, or weaker sections of the society, must not be dis-privileged in the process. Resolution of this conflict does not mean abolition of difference,” Firstpost quoted the law commission as saying.
It thus recommended that India’s diverse personal laws are retained but, at the same time, it should be ensured that these laws do not contravene any fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens by the Constitution.
Returning to Bommai’s present address, the Karnataka chief minister noted how many people had called the state’s anti-conversion law unconstitutional, but noted that now, even the Supreme Court had recognised forced conversions as a problem.
“Whenever we think of introducing reforms to bring equality in the society, most often it is wrongly interpreted,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
