Vice President Dhankar bats for UCC implementation, says 'it's now or never'

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar on Wednesday batted for the Uniform Civil Code saying if it is not implemented now, then it will never be.

"It's now or never, if we don't do it now, our values will get corroded. UCC will bind Bharat and its nationalism more effectively," Dhankar told News18. He emphasized that "any further delay in implementation of UCC will be corrosive to our values".

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi vouched for the implementation of the UCC and questioned 'how can a country run on two laws'. "Today people are being instigated in the name of UCC. How can the country run on two (laws)? The Constitution also talks of equal rights... Supreme Court has also asked to implement UCC. These (Opposition) people are playing vote bank politics," he said.

Earlier in June, the Law Commission decided to look at the need for a UCC afresh and seek the views of various stakeholders, including members of the public and religious organisations on the politically sensitive matter.

A UCC would replace the different personal laws, based on the scriptures and customs of various religious communities, with a common set of rules governing every citizen of the country. As per Article 44 of the Constitution coming under the Directive Principles of State Policy, the State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India.

Tamil Nadu's opposition party AIADMK has reiterated its opposition to the implementation of UCC, saying it could potentially harm the religious freedoms of minority communities in India.

Former chief minister and AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi Palaniswami said, "Our stand on the Uniform Civil Code is the same as that of the 2019 Election Manifesto. We have explained everything there briefly."

In the election manifesto released ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party had said it would stand against the UCC.

“AIADMK will urge the Government of India not to bring any amendments to the constitution for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) that will adversely affect the religious rights of minorities of India," it said in its election manifesto.