Days after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) extended its “in-principle support” to the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday raised questions on the need for the same.
Stating that the BJP pulls up such tactics close to elections, Mann asked the saffron party to hold talks with all the stakeholders and build a consensus on UCC first before deciding on its implementation.
Mann’s statement came amidst the raging debate in the country over the UCC after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent push for its implementation.
Mann, questioning the BJP line that the UCC was “envisaged in the Constitution”, argued that its implementation has to take place only when all citizens are socially equal. He also claimed that it is the BJP's agenda to start speaking about religion whenever elections are near.
“Are we socially equal? No. There are still many people who are suppressed,” he said.
Mann's remarks on the UCC came after his party, on June 28, extended its “in-principle support” to the UCC, while submitting that it should be brought in with consensus after extensive consultations with stakeholders.
Mann said that the country is like a “bouquet which has flowers of all colours…Every religion has its own culture and customs…You (BJP) want the bouquet of only one colour”.
Mann further said, "It is the agenda of the BJP whenever elections are near they start speaking about religion. The AAP does not interfere in religion as it is a secular party."
A UCC typically means having a common law for all citizens of the country that is not based on religion. Personal laws and laws related to inheritance, adoption and succession are likely to be covered by a common code.