New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday addressed the Rajya Sabha and concluded the discussion on the 75 years of adoption of the Constitution. In his nearly hour and a half long speech, Shah accused the Congress party of introducing ‘appeasement politics’ and treating the Constitution like a ‘private fiefdom’ of one family.
Amit Shah questioned why the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has not been implemented yet. He asked the party to clarify if a secular nation should have a common law for all religions or not. The home minister compared constitutional amendments by Congress and BJP by saying that the grand old party amended the Constitution to remain in power.
Shah lashed out over the introduction of Muslim Personal Law during Congress party’s regime, he said, “Why hasn’t the UCC been implemented yet? It didn’t happen because, after the Constituent Assembly concluded and elections were held, the country’s first Prime Minister, Nehru, introduced the Muslim Personal Law instead of the UCC.”
“I want to ask the Congress party in this House: in a secular nation, should there be a common law for all religions or not? Why do they continue to support the Muslim Personal Law? This was the biggest act of political manoeuvring—appeasement began right there with the introduction of the Muslim Personal Law. You cannot bring the UCC because you refuse to rise above appeasement politics,” the BJP leader stated.
Amit Shah further highlighted the implementation of the UCC in Uttarakhand, stating, “The BJP has already introduced a common civil code in Uttarakhand and will implement it across all states.”
BJP’s Repeated Advocacy Of UCC
Implemented in Uttarakhand last February, the UCC is a single set of laws meant to replace different religious laws and cover matters like marriage, divorce, inheritance, financial compensation, and adoption across all communities.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consistently advocated for the Uniform Civil Code. Earlier this year, the BJP pledged to implement a common law if it won the Jharkhand elections.
It is one of the BJP’s key ideological goals and was a part of the party’s promises in the 2022 assembly elections. However, activists and experts worry it could erase the customs and traditions of specific communities and be used to target their faiths.
Bureau Report
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