MP Govt gets final UCC report; panel excludes STs
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Tuesday urged the Congress to clearly spell out its stand on the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC), saying the high-level committee constituted by the Madhya Pradesh Government has submitted its final report and the time has come for political parties to State their position on the issue.
Speaking to media persons at the State Assembly after paying tributes to former Chief Minister Kailash Joshi on his birth anniversary, Yadav alleged that the Congress views issues such as the Uniform Civil Code and the Bhojshala dispute only through the prism of Hindu-Muslim politics and vote-bank considerations. He said people from different religious communities had expressed their views before the committee, but the Congress had so far not officially clarified its stand.
The Chief Minister said the committee submitted its final report to the State Government on July 13 within the stipulated timeframe and thanked its chairperson and members for completing the exercise. Committee members Gopal Sharma, Budhpal Singh, Shobha Paithankar and Member Secretary Ajay Katesaria were present when the report was handed over.
According to Yadav, the report has been prepared in three volumes. The first contains the committee’s recommendations based on an analysis of international, national and State laws, as well as existing legal traditions and practices. It comprises 10 chapters outlining the committee’s key recommendations.
The second volume contains the draft legislation prepared after examining the laws and regulations currently applicable in Madhya Pradesh. The proposed Bill consists of four parts, 404 sections and seven schedules.
The third volume details the public consultation process undertaken by the committee. Suggestions were invited through district-level consultations, State-level interactions and an online portal. More than 9.58 lakh suggestions were received, and the report includes an analysis of responses based on questions, gender and community categories.
The committee has also recommended that Scheduled Tribes be kept outside the ambit of the proposed Uniform Civil Code. The State Government will now examine the report before deciding on the next course of action.
Yadav said representatives of the Muslim, Hindu and Christian communities had participated in the consultation process and expressed their views, but alleged that the Congress, despite being a major political party, had not formally conveyed its position on the proposed legislation.
