Nagpur: Parliament cannot “impose” the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) on citizens as the Constitution gives a person religious freedom, said Dr B R Ambedkar's grandson Prakash Ambedkar, who is the head of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), on Wednesday.
In case the Uttarakhand government implements UCC in the hill state, the choice will be with the people whether they want to live as per the code or as per their religion (personal law), he claimed.
He also wondered if the state has the right to implement it in the first place. Ambedkar was addressing a press conference in Nagpur.
To a query on the BJP-led Centre's wish to roll out UCC across the country, Ambedkar said that Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution give a person the freedom to adopt a religious life as long as it doesn't conflict with any fundamental rights.
Besides, the government cannot “impose” UCC unless it changes the Constitution completely, he said. People will now have clarity over whether they want to accept UCC or follow their personal laws, he added.
Ambedkar wondered whether the Uttarakhand government has the right to bring in UCC. Even if the state implements it, people will have the choice of whether to accept it or live as per their religion, he said.
“Besides, all this is propaganda and nothing else,” he said.
The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday tabled in the assembly the Uniform Civil Code bill, the first such move in any state after Independence that could be followed by similar legislation in other BJP-run states.
The hill state's small tribal community is exempted from the proposed law, which also mandates registration of live-in relationships. Children born of live-in relationships will be considered legitimate and deserted women will be entitled to maintenance from their partners.
Coming just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Uniform Civil Code, Uttarakhand, 2024 bill ticks off an important item on the BJP's ideological agenda – a common law on marriage, divorce, land, property and inheritance for all citizens, irrespective of their religion.
With PTI inputs