Talk of Uniform Civil code surfaces in Gujarat ahead of Assembly election
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Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government is reported to be pushing a proposal ahead of the state Assembly election to constitute a committee which can suggest to the government the aspects of implementing the Uniform Civil code in the state.
The committee, which is likely to be helmed by a retired High Court judge, is expected to be giving expert advice to the government on aspects bound to the Uniform Civil code.
Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh governments were heard before making similar announcements of implementing the Uniform Civil code in their respective states.
Uniform Civil Code is a proposal in India to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which apply to all citizens equally regardless of their religion, gender and sexual orientation.
Meanwhile, the Central government had made its stand on the Uniform Civil in the Supreme Court where it stated it could not direct parliament to form or enact any law on Uniform Civil Code in the country.
Though the call for a Common Civil code for all the citizens in the country seems to be ideal for bringing equality, many political pundits are of the opinion that it aims at targeting the Muslim community.
Responding to the reports, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board said the BJP governments in states and at the Centre are trying to blind the concerns of inflation, economy, and rising unemployment.
The Ministry of Law and Justice in its affidavit stated that the matter of policy is for the elected representatives of the people to decide and no direction in this regard can be issued by the Centre. "It is for the legislature to enact or not to enact a piece of legislation," the ministry told the apex court.