GoM headed by Rijiju to lead BJP's UCC outreach to secure consensus

New Delhi, July 9 Abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya and implementation of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country have been the core agenda of the BJP, of which two have been accomplished while efforts to finalise the UCC draft are on.

However, the government and the BJP are not hurriedly persuading the UCC issue as its adaption will affect Muslims as well as other communities including Christians and Sikhs. Even Hindus too would be affected by it; especially it will have a wide impact on Scheduled Tribes as well as Dalits who follow different customs and traditions.

After continuous efforts for many decades, the BJP is now running government in several northeastern states and if UCC is implemented across the country, then undoubtedly it will have a big impact on the tribals- dominated North-East. This is the reason why the BJP is encouraging maximum discussion on the issue so that the views of all sections of people can come to the fore.

In the midst of the ongoing controversy over the UCC, it is also being tried to clarify that its purpose is not to impose the same laws or rules on everyone. It is being claimed everyone’s faith will be fully respected in the UCC.

Recently, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the UCC issue Sushil Modi also advocated the exclusion of tribals and the North-East from the proposed UCC.

It is also clearly visible that the government wants to move forward on UCC only by taking all the parties into consideration.

Recently, the group of ministers (GoM), which has been informally constituted under the chairmanship of Union Minister Kiren Rijiju to discuss all the important aspects related to the UCC, has also been given the responsibility of consulting with different sections on the UCC.

In the GoM, Rijiju will have a consultation on issues related to tribals while Union Ministers Smriti Irani, G. Kishan Reddy and Arjun Ram Meghwal will look into the issues related to women's rights, the North-East and legal aspects respectively.

Besides, the BJP is very cautious about the “misconceptions” being spread about the UCC.

With the Law Commission seeking suggestions and opinions from the people on UCC, a national debate has started across the country.

The BJP besides other organisations like RSS-affiliated Muslim Rashtriya Manch and Vishwa Hindu Parishad are also continuously discussing and communicating about the UCC in different parts of the country so that every section of the society including Muslims can come openly put their suggestions and views before the people and on that basis the government can decide its future strategy.

It is believed that the BJP can make Uttarakhand a laboratory for implementing UCC across the country. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has already constituted a committee for the implementation of the UCC draft in the state.

Recently, during his visit to Delhi, Dhami met separately with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National Organisation General Secretary B.L. Santhosh and held important discussions regarding the UCC draft.

--IANS

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