Published 08:25 IST, February 11th 2020
As BJP issues whip, Congress' Karti Chidambaram raises suspicion on 'contentious' UCC
As the ruling BJP issued a whip to its members of Parliament to be present in the House on Tuesday, speculation rose about the Universal Civil code.
As the ruling BJP issued a whip to its members of Parliament to be present in the House on Tuesday, speculation rose about the Universal Civil Code. Towing the same speculation, Congress leader Karti Chidambaram took to Twitter and said that BJP is doing so to distract people from the poll drubbing in Delhi. However, his tweet came even before counting began on Tuesday. The leader also went on to add this step was a mere distraction from "dismal state of economy." Calling the UCC as "contentious legislation", the leader alleged that the government is attempting to shift the debate focus.
This comes amid the exit poll predicting a landslide victory for the Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party, with a significant increase in the number of seats for BJP. As the BJP government within six months of coming to power has undertaken long-pending issue of Article 370 and has also executed the Trust formation for Ayodhya's Ram Temple after Supreme Court's order, it is largely speculated that the government will also execute Universal Civil Code during its tenure.
What is Uniform Civil Code?
Under the Article 44 of the Constitution, it is stated that the country shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens throughout the territory of India. Uniform Civil Code is one that would provide for one law for the entire country, applicable to all religious communities in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc. However, it should be noted that Article 44 is one of the directive principles, which under Article 37 are fundamental in governance but not enforceable by any court.
BJP's Whip
The BJP on Monday issued a three-line whip to all its Rajya Sabha members, asking them to be present in the House on Tuesday to "support the stand of the government". BJP's letter also states that "All BJP MPs of Rajya Sabha are informed that some very important Legislative work will be brought to the House on Tuesday, 11th February 2020, to be discussed and to be passed" Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will reply in the House on Budget 2020 at 4 pm on Tuesday.
Updated 08:25 IST, February 11th 2020