Parliamentary Committee Begins Crucial Meeting On Uniform Civil Code Implementation

The Parliamentary Standing Committee for Law and Justice began its meeting on Monday in the Parliament, focusing on the crucial issue of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The committee aims to deliberate on the implementation of a unified legal framework that includes and unites all citizens of the country.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, emphasized the necessity of creating a law that brings together people from all walks of life. He highlighted the Supreme Court's endorsement of numerous UCC-related judgments, further indicating that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would garner support across party lines for this initiative,as ANI reported.

"It is the need of the hour that a law should be made by uniting and including all the people of the country, and the Supreme Court has also endorsed many of its verdicts," stated Minister Goyal during the interview. He expressed confidence in receiving cross-party backing, given the BJP's majority in the Rajya Sabha.

"We have a full majority in Rajya Sabha, and I think there are many leaders from other parties who want the country to unite. I think many parties will support BJP on the Uniform Civil Code. We will get cross-party support for this," the minister added.

Earlier, on Saturday, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide clarity on the proposal for a Uniform Civil Code. PM Modi's endorsement of the UCC has brought the topic into the spotlight once again. He emphasized that the country cannot function with multiple laws and emphasized that the Uniform Civil Code is an integral part of the Constitution.

"Today, people are being instigated in the name of UCC. How can the country run on two (laws)? The Constitution also talks of equal rights...Supreme Court has also asked to implement UCC. These (Opposition) people are playing vote bank politics," stated PM Modi, underlining the significance of the Uniform Civil Code.   

In a notable development, the UCC public notice received a remarkable response of nearly 8.5 lakh replies last week, showcasing the public's engagement and interest in the matter.

"In more than a dozen cases, the Supreme Court has said that the UCC should be implemented as soon as possible. The court has repeated this time and again," Sushil Modi said. He added, "I don’t understand why the same age for marriage can’t be fixed for all. It is being propagated that the UCC will affect religious customs and rituals. If criminal law is the same for all people in the country, then why can’t civil law be that way?"

Bharatiya Janata Party’s strong push for a Uniform Civil Code in the country has unruffled the Congress as also the larger bunch of Opposition parties since they see this as a ploy to shore up the Hindu vote bank ahead of the next year’s Lok Sabha elections in which PM Modi will seek a third term.