Ahmedabad : The proposal related to implementation of Uniform Civil Code in the state has been approved in the last BJP-led government cabinet meeting of the state ahead of the Gujarat assembly elections. It has also been decided to constitute a high-level committee under the chairmanship of a retired Supreme Court/High Court judge to draft the Common Civil Code.
Union Minister Purushottam Rupala and Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi informed in a press conference, Rupala said that if there is a law in the country, it will be beneficial in many ways, all citizens will get equal rights. He added that if the decision is taken by consensus, it will be the strength of democracy, earlier there were different laws. Regarding the decision taken in the cabinet, Rupala said that the Uniform Civil Code will be implemented after the report of the committee. He said that the Chief Minister has been given the right to constitute the committee, it will be headed by a retired judge of the High Court, while the committee will have three to four members.
Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi said that on the demand of the public, the government has taken a decision in the matter of Uniform Civil Code today.
The Congress has reacted sharply to this decision of the BJP government. Party’s working president Himmat Singh Patel said that the BJP is doing this to divert attention from the problems related to the people before the end of the elections. He said that the biggest problem in the state right now is inflation and unemployment. The BJP wants to avoid discussing these issues, due to which it is raising the issue of Uniform Civil Code.
According to the information, recently, union Home Minister Amit Shah had said in this regard that the state should make efforts at its level for the Uniform Civil Code Act. After this, in March 2022, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in his state.
The Uniform Civil Code is a secular law in which the same law will apply to the followers of all religions. There are different laws related to different religions in the country currently, a separate law for Muslim, Christian, Parsi community, there is a separate law for Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism.
BJP has included this issue in its central manifesto. So far, the third important issue of the BJP, which has fulfilled its promise to remove Article 370, is to get the Uniform Civil Code implemented in the states. At present, it is busy in implementing it in BJP ruled states. It will also be important to know how much BJP will benefit from this issue in the Gujarat Assembly elections.