Modi Government Clarifies When Will Uniform Civil Code Act Come Into Force In India
New Delhi, 23rd July 2022: Kiren Rijiju, Union Law and Justice Minister in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, referring to the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) said that the government has no plans to implement it in the country as of now.
The Minister said that Article 44 of the Constitution provides that the State shall endeavor to secure a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens throughout the territory of India.
Further, he said in his reply, “Personal laws like testament and succession, will, joint family and partition, marriage and divorce are related to entry 5 of List-III of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. States also have the right to make laws on them.”
The UCC has been on the BJP’s political agenda for a long time and was also a part of the party’s 2019 election manifesto. BJP leaders have been raising the UCC issue from time to time.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh has been calling UCC the need of the hour. Similarly, BJP MPs Kirori Lal Meena and Nishikant Dubey have tried to introduce Private Member Bill on UCC several times in the past.
BJP-ruled Uttarakhand has already moved ahead on this matter. A committee has been constituted to implement UCC in the state. The first meeting of the committee was held a fortnight ago.
Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami had appealed to other states to follow the model being adopted by their state on UCC.
With the latest observation made by the Law Ministry, other states may also be encouraged to pursue UCC legislation at the state level.
