The government has not taken any decision as of now on the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Thursday. He was responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha on whether the government has any plan to pass the UCC Bill.
"As per the information received from the Law Commission, the matter related to the Uniform Civil Code may be taken up by the 22nd Law Commission for its consideration. Therefore, no decision on the implementation of a uniform civil code has been taken as of now," Rijiju told the Upper House.
The minister said that the government had requested the 21st Law Commission to examine various issues relating to UCC and to make recommendations thereon. However, the term of that commission ended on August 31, 2018.
The term of the present law panel ends later this month. Government sources have indicated that the panel's three-year term could be extended, reported PTI.
The current law panel was constituted on February 21, 2020, but its chairperson and members were appointed in November last year, months before the end of the panel's term.
Implementation of the Uniform Civil Code was a poll promise made by the Bharatiya Janata Party during the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The UCC aims to replace personal laws based on the scriptures and customs of various religious communities, with a common set of rules governing every citizen of the country.
In December, a private member's bill that seeks to provide for a panel to prepare a Uniform Civil Code was introduced in the Rajya Sabha. BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena moved for leave to introduce the bill to provide for the constitution of the national inspection and investigation committee for preparation of a Uniform Civil Code and its implementation throughout India and for matters connected therewith during the private member's business.
However, opposition members from the Congress, CPI, CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress protested against the introduction of the bill saying it will "destroy" the social fabric and unity in diversity that is prevalent in the country.
