New Delhi, Sep 14 (IANS) : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday welcomed Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement regarding the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in all states governed by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), describing the move as necessary for ensuring uniformity in laws and addressing various social issues.
Speaking to IANS, BJP MP Naresh Bansal said that Uttarakhand, his home state, had taken the lead in implementing the UCC and that other states were now gradually moving in the same direction.
“I come from the state where the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was implemented first. Uttarakhand was the first state to frame and enact legislation on the UCC. Now, gradually, other states are moving in the same direction. This is a very necessary law for the entire country. To ensure that the demographic balance of the nation is safeguarded, this law is essential and will be implemented,” Bansal said.
BJP West Bengal President, Samik Bhattacharya, also backed the Home Minister’s announcement and said that implementing a UCC had consistently been part of the BJP’s stated position.
“What the Home Minister said is correct. It has always been the BJP’s declared stand that there should be a Uniform Civil Code, and we will implement it across the country. This is not our hidden agenda or a secret issue. We have always spoken about it,” Bhattacharya told IANS.
The BJP-led West Bengal government is also moving ahead with a UCC Bill.
Bhattacharya said support for a UCC was not limited to the BJP and claimed that people from different professional and social backgrounds were also in favour of having a common set of laws.
“There should be one law in one country. Society has been divided in the name of religion and faith for a long time, and the country has suffered because of it. The country should be freed from this,” he added.
BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, while speaking to IANS, said the announcement was in line with the constitutional provision that calls upon the government to work towards a UCC.
“Amit Shah has reiterated the constitutional commitment. Article 44 of the Constitution directs the government to move towards implementing a Uniform Civil Code. After Prime Minister Modi came to power, the country was prepared in this direction, and our state governments have also moved forward. The Uniform Civil Code is about reforming the social system. Those making communal attacks against it are trying to create an imaginary communal misconception about the UCC,” Naqvi said.
Bihar Minister Ram Kripal Yadav also welcomed the announcement, calling the move necessary and expressing confidence that the UCC would be implemented in BJP-ruled states within the timeframe announced by the Home Minister.
“The Home Minister has made a good decision. A UCC is necessary, and within the next three years, before 2029, it will be implemented across all states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party. This will help resolve several issues,” Yadav told IANS.
Earlier on Sunday, the Home Minister had announced that the UCC would be implemented in all 21 states governed by the BJP-NDA before 2029.
Shah said the implementation would be undertaken through necessary measures and efforts in a phased manner.
The Home Minister noted that the UCC has already been implemented in several states, while work is underway in others. He said the next step would be to ensure that the remaining states also adopt the common civil code.
