Cannot implement Uniform Civil Code unilaterally: BJP's key allies

New Delhi: Leader of Janata Dal (United), a key ally of BJP, KC Tyagi, said on Wednesday that the party is not against the Uniform Civil Code, but it must be implemented through consensus, The Indian Express reported.

Tyagi told The Indian Express that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had submitted it before the Law Commission in 2017, stating that UCC must be a measure of reform and not a political instrumentality.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is also a main ally of the BJP-led NDA government, had stated that implementation of UCC should not be done unilaterally. TDP has 16 MPs in the Lok Sabha.

UCC is the fresh among many implementations the BJP-led Centre has brought since its assent in 2014, which a large section of India believes anti-Muslim. The legislation proposes a common set of laws over marriage, divorce, succession and adoption for all citizens. At the moment, personal affairs of different religions and tribal groups are based on community-specific laws, the 2011 census suggests. Legal experts also opine that such UCC would remove personal law practices of minority communities, particularly Muslims in the country.

A day ago, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said that the newly sworn-in government's agenda includes implementing the UCC.

TDP leader Nara Lokesh, son of TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu, said that issues like delimitation, Uniform Civil Code, etc., will be discussed at length and resolved amicably. There is a lot to discuss, and they will sit together to reach a consensus among partners, he added.

In May, Amit Shah also stated that UCC would be implemented in the country in the next five years if the BJP came back to power in the Centre.