DEHRADUN: Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale on Thursday supported the steps initiated by the Uttarakhand government towards introducing a Uniform Civil Code and said even the Centre may bring it soon.
"People have been in favour of a Uniform Civil Code ever since the country adopted the Constitution on January 26, 1950. The government's job is to introduce it if people are in favour of it. It is not against Muslims. It is for the country's benefit. The Government of India may bring it very soon as the country needs it," Athawale said at a press conference here.
The minister was responding to questions by media persons as to how he looked upon the steps taken by the state government towards bringing a Uniform Civil Code.
Fulfilling a pre-poll promise, the Pushkar Singh Dhami government in Uttarakhand has constituted a five-member committee headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Ranjana Prakash Desai to talk to all stakeholders and prepare a draft of the UCC.
Athawale said the UCC can even help control population growth and it is not against Muslims.
The Muslim community is also "our own", he said.
"India's history is such that 2500 years ago at the time of emperor Ashoka everyone embraced Buddhism and after the advent of Shankaracharya Hindus became dominant but when the Mughals came Hindus became Muslims. Hindu temples took the place of Buddhist temples and mosques took the place of Hindu temples," he said.
However, he appealed to the people of the country to live peacefully with each other showing respect towards each other's religion.
On the political developments in Maharashtra, Athawale said most of the MLAs are with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde whose cabinet will soon be expanded in which his Republican Party of India (Athawale) will also have a minister.
Shinde has spoilt the political future of Uddhav Thackeray, he said.
Asked whether the BJP had a hand in the political developments in Maharashtra, he said it was an internal dispute of the Shiv Sena and the BJP had nothing to do with it.
He emphatically said that the NDA will emerge victorious in the next assembly polls in Maharashtra and win more than 170-180 seats.