Uproar as private bill on UCC tabled, cleared for debate

A controversial private member’s bill seeking a panel to draft and implement a uniform civil code (UCC) across India was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Friday by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker, sparking uproar from the Opposition which termed it a grave provocation.

A controversial private member’s bill seeking a panel to draft and implement a uniform civil code (UCC) across India was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Friday by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker, sparking uproar from the Opposition which termed it a grave provocation.

(PTI)

The introduction of the bill by BJP member Kirori Lal Meena was backed by Union minister Piyush Goyal and opens the doors for debate in Parliament on the controversial subject that has been at the core of the BJP’s social agenda for decades. It remains to be seen if the bill gets the backing of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) when it is up for passage.

“I think it is the legitimate right of a member to raise an issue which is in the directive principles of the Constitution. Let this subject be debated in the House. I would appeal to the House, let this bill be introduced. It is the member’s right,” said Goyal, also the leader of the Rajya Sabha, amid loud protests by Opposition members.

“When the debate comes up on this subject, of course, everybody will have a point of view. When it becomes the property of the House, they will decide what they have to do,” he added.

The Opposition erupted in protest. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s Tiruchi Siva said the same bill was listed on several occasions but never introduced. “But now, the country’s secularism and federalism are at stake. Imagine what will happen if this private member bill is passed,” said Siva, adding that a large number of Muslims chose to stay in India after Partition. “We are trembling considering the future of the country,” he added.

A private member’s bill is one that is moved by a parliamentarian other than a minister. Every Friday, lawmakers are allotted time to push their bills. While most of the private bills fail to get any traction, data shows only a handful of private member bills have become laws since 1952. The last such bill to become a law was in 1970. The last such bill to pass the Upper House was a legislation to protect transgender rights in 2015.

The decades-old demand for UCC is tied to India’s complex system of personal laws that are often tied to community based rules and customs, especially for religious minorities. A UCC, in theory, will implement homogenous rules for marriage, divorce, inheritance, financial compensation and adoption, among others, for all communities but many activists and experts fear that this may obliterate the customs and traditions of particular communities and become a proxy to target their faiths.

The private member’s bill – Uniform Civil Code in India Bill, 2020 – seeks to create a National Inspection and Investigation Committee for the implementation of UCC. This proposed panel, the bill says, will be headed by a former Chief Justice of India and have members from the judiciary, the Union home and law ministers, and nominated members and bureaucrats. It aims to formulate UCC to replace all laws based on religious texts or traditions, and focus on gender equality, right to equality and prevention of discrimination.

The bill said, “No government had the willpower to implement these constitution provisions (Article 44), because the minorities, especially the Muslims believed that the UCC will lead to the violation of their personal laws.”

Meena said he tried to introduce the bill on six occasions since 2020. “All my earlier attempts failed due to want of support. This time, I succeeded… I expect the government to list the bill next session for discussion and passage,” he added.

For the BJP – which has already succeeded in achieving key ideological goals in the construction of the Ram temple and the effective abrogation of Article 370 – implementation of UCC is the next ideological frontier. Ahead of assembly elections in Uttarakhand last year and Gujarat this year, the BJP-run state governments announced the setting up of committees to roll out UCC. Though these steps were largely symbolic in nature, they signalled the party’s intent. “The issue of UCC implementation is a joint area for the Centre and the states. There is a grey area but the states can go ahead with it,” Union home minister Amit Shah said in a recent HT interview.

Earlier, BJP MP Rakesh Sinha had intended to move a private member’s bill on the same issue, but did not submit it, saying it would lead to repetition. Sinha called the Opposition’s concerns misleading. “Their apprehensions are based on their desire for propaganda. Their opposition is as hollow as it was when they opposed the abrogation of Article 370,” he added.

The eight-page bill envisaged that UCC will be “applicable for marriage, divorce, succession, adoption, guardianship and partition of land and assets on all citizens without any discrimination.” The bill is also aimed at gender equality and “substitution of the personal laws or laws based on religious texts and traditions by UCC.”

The bill cited Article 44 of the Constitution that says, ”The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.” It also pointed out “The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act seems to be a step towards UCC since the Act permits the people of Muslim community to adopt children whereas Muslims are not permitted or allowed to adopt children under their personal laws.

But the Opposition remained unconvinced.

Indian Union Muslim League’s Abdul Wahab said the call for UCC is a “provocation” which, is being “deliberately” carried out by the BJP, “The Uniform Civil Code cannot be implemented in India. With whatever majority there may be, with whatever force, this is not going to be happening. It is a simple civil code, not a criminal code. If they are not, particularly, tolerable for that one – everywhere, intolerance is there – at least, let us have our own civil law. There is no point in this and it is not a big thing also,” he said.

Communist Party of India leader Elamaram Kareem said there should be wide consultations with different communities and people of various religions otherwise it will create differences between people, and argued that plenty of issues needed urgent attention but the government was supporting a bill that will “put the country on fire”.

John Brittas of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said the 21st Law Commission concluded that UCC is neither necessary nor desirable. “Law minister should be aware of this, if he takes some time away from attacking the Supreme Court, it is against spirit of the constitution....” he said.

Brittas also said,“There is a civil code for Himachal Pradesh, there is a civil code for Gujarat and there is a civil code for all the BJP-ruled States. So, essentially, it beats their decision to have a uniform civil code. So, this is supposed to be an ‘uncivil code and not a civil code.”

Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav said, “From Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar to Shyama Sasad Mukherjee, many capable people were there when the Constitution was made. To avoid bulldozing of social, cultural and other rights of the minority, It was arranged in the fundamental rights.”

The bill will now go for the President’s ascent. After Draupodi Murmu’s approval, the bill will be listed for consideration and passing if the government wants to move ahead. Usually private member takes a long time to get listed for passage.