Congress raps Central govt on Uniform Civil Code
The meeting came ahead of a Standing Committee meeting of Law and Justice on July 3 to seek the views of the members of the Law Ministry, Law Commission, and other stakeholders on UCC.
Published: 02nd July 2023 07:47 AM | Last Updated: 02nd July 2023 07:47 AM | A+A A-
For representational purposes
NEW DELHI: A Congress Parliamentary Strategy Group meeting chaired by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi here on Saturday reiterated the party’s position that the 22nd Law Commission’s decision to seek public opinion on a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) represents the government’s desperation to continue with its agenda of polarization and diversion from its failures.
The party will examine the issue after the government comes up with a UCC draft.The meeting also discussed the key issues that will be taken up during the monsoon session of Parliament, which begins on July 20. Many leaders, including Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Shashi Tharoor, Digvijay Singh, Jairam Ramesh, Salman Khurshid and Pramod Tiwari attended the meeting.
“We stated our stand on UCC on June 15th after the Law Commission issued a public notice. When there is a draft or a discussion, we will participate and examine the issue. Right now, we only have the commission’s notice,” said Jairam Ramesh.
The meeting came ahead of a Standing Committee meeting of Law and Justice on July 3 to seek the views of the members of the Law Ministry, Law Commission, and other stakeholders on UCC.
In its June 15 statement, the party said, “The real reason is that the 21st Law Commission after carrying out a detailed and comprehensive review of the subject observed that it is “neither necessary nor desirable at this stage” to have a UCC.” said the statement.
While speculation is rife that the government may table the bill on UCC in the upcoming session of Parliament, some of the Opposition parties like Uddhav’s Shiv Sena and the Aam Aadmi Party are not on the same page. They have extended qualified support to it. The divergent positions of the opposition parties will be advantageous to BJP at a time when the parties are set to meet for the second time in Bangalore on July 14.
