Left MPs moved a motion objecting to the introduction of a private member’s bill seeking a uniform civil code, saying such legislation would damage the communal harmony. BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena has proposed the bill.
CPI(M) MPs Elamaram Kareem and V Sivadasan, along with CPI MP Binoy Viswam, moved the motion.
The bill could not be tabled on Friday since the Rajya Sabha failed to function for the fourth straight day.
Mr. Kareem, in his letter to Chairman Venkaiah Naidu, said the subject of uniform civil code needed wider consultation and discussion before legislation could be brought in. “The manner in which such a bill is intended to be introduced by a member in a hasty manner without consultations is not acceptable,” he noted.
Mr. Viswam said in his letter to Mr. Naidu that the demand for a uniform civil code had a complicated and polarising history that dated back to Independence. “An examination of the bill clearly indicates its ulterior agenda, given that it selectively chooses to highlight inequalities in one religion, while conveniently ignoring those in others,” he stated.
The object of ensuring equality, he asserted, was a noble aim. Yet given the extensive diversity of religion, cultures and traditions that govern these areas of customary law, all reforms must not only do justice but must appear to be just as well, he pointed out.
