Mumbai: Amid the raging debate across the country over the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday stated that there is no opposition to the law but first we need to look at the draft. "Let the draft come...nobody is opposing the law...there were discussions on the draft of UCC (in the meeting of Uddhav Thackeray faction)," Sanjay Raut said. Earlier on June 2, he said that they would comment on the matter only once the draft is submitted.
"The draft of the proposed UCC is yet to be put in the public domain. It is neither with you (media) nor with us. Let the draft be completed, and then we will comment," he told ANI.
Importantly, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day and later assured that a Uniform Civil Code will soon be implemented in the state, even as he denied having any direct discussion with the PM on the topic. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, C Dhami said he has invited the PM to visit Uttarakhand. The Chief Minister said he also discussed the issue of assistance for the people affected in the Joshimath, Char Dham Yatra, and the increase in Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in the state among other issues.
Chairperson of Uttarakhand UCC Drafting Committee, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, also accompanied Chief Minister Dhami, who completed two years as the head of the hill state on Tuesday.
CM Dhami's meeting with PM Modi comes amid the raging debate over the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in the country. Sources said that the Uttarakhand Civil Code Draft might become the template for the Centre's law.
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The Law Commission had on June 14 reopened its exercise on the UCC by soliciting "views and ideas" from the public and "recognised" religious organisations within 30 days about the proposal that has been on the ruling BJP's agenda for a long. On June 27, PM Modi, while batting for the UCC in Bhopal said that the country cannot run on two laws and that Uniform Civil Code was part of the Constitution.
The Uniform Civil Code is a proposal to formulate and implement personal laws which will apply uniformly to all citizens regardless of their religion, gender, and sexual orientation.
The code comes under Article 44 of the Constitution, which stipulates that the state shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens throughout the territory of India. In the BJP's 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto, the party had promised the implementation of UCC if it came to power.
