GUWAHATI, July 4: The Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday advocated for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and stressed that any ‘further delay' in its implementation would be ‘corrosive to our values'.
The Vice President said that the time has come for implementing the UCC as envisaged by the founding fathers of the Constitution.
”The underlying sublimity of this has to be appreciated and understood as this will bind the nation more effectively. If there is further delay in UCC implementation, it will be corrosive to our values,” the Vice-President said while addressing the 25th convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati.
“Article 44 of the Constitution clearly states that the state shall endeavour to secure the UCC for its citizens across the country. This was the thought process of the founding fathers. The time has come for its implementation and there can be no rationale for impediment or further delay” Dhankhar added.
He cited the framers of the Constitution and said that they were certain that the Directive Principles were fundamental in the governance of the country which reflected in the duties of the state to apply these principles in framing laws.
He expressed shock over the opposition of the UCC, which was recently pitched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and said, “'Following this premise, I am stunned at the reaction of some people when there is an effort to implement the UCC. Political stakeholding cannot be at the cost of the nation and nationalism.”
The UCC is aimed at replacing personal laws based on religions, customs, and traditions with one common law for everyone irrespective of religion, caste, creed, sexual orientation and gender.
Personal laws and laws related to inheritance, adoption, and succession are likely to be covered by a common code.
”The underlying sublimity of this has to be appreciated and understood as this will bind the nation more effectively. If there is further delay in UCC implementation, it will be corrosive to our values,” the Vice-President said in his speech.
Dhankhar, in a word of advice, said that the politicians can practice the politics they want but there has to be a ‘'common denominator within the frame and respect for the nation and nationalism''.
Notbly, several Opposition parties including Congress have questioned the government over its UCC pitch and alleged that it is being discussed in view of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Uniform Civil Code is aimed at replacing personal laws based on religions, customs, and traditions with one common law for everyone irrespective of religion, caste, creed, sexual orientation, and gender.
Personal laws and laws related to inheritance, adoption, and succession are likely to be covered by a common code.
