CHENNAI: The debate on Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has gained momentum after a BJP MP introduced a private member bill on UCC in the Rajya Sabha amid protests from many Opposition parties. Though private member bills rarely become law, the move by the MP assumes significance as he was defended by the government in the Upper House. Till now, only 14 such bills have become Acts and the last such occasion was in 1970.
Private member bills are introduced by MPs, from either the ruling or the Opposition parties other than ministers. It becomes a law if it gets passed in both the houses. According to PRS Legislative Research (PRS), a think tank, only 14 private member bills have been passed by both the Houses since 1952. The Uniform Civil Code in India Bill, 2020 moved by MP Kirodi Lal Meena seeks to provide for a panel to prepare a Uniform Civil Code to be implemented across the country.
Criticising the Opposition’s demand for withdrawal of the bill, Union Minister Piyush Goel said, “Let this subject be debated. At this stage, to cast aspersion on this and to use the names of the very members of the Constituent Assembly to try to criticise (the bill) is uncalled for,” he said.
As Opposition parties view the private member bill on UCC as the ‘government’s tactic to test the waters’, experts point out that unless the government adopts such a bill, it is rejected or withdrawn in a majority of cases. Former secretary-general of Lok Sabha PDT Achary explains this: “If the government adopts the PMB, it can be passed in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Then, it can become law after getting assent from the President,” he said.
“Another possibility is that the government may agree with the spirit of the bill and introduce a comprehensive bill. I have seen many such cases during my stint,” he said. M R Madhavan, president of PRS Legislative Research points out that though DMK MP Tiruchi Siva’s private member bill on ‘Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, was passed in the Rajya Sabha by a unanimous voice vote in 2015, it was not passed by the Lok Sabha. “The government passed the ‘Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill’ in 2019 inspired by Siva’s private member bill. But it was a different bill,” he said.