Congress demands discussion on Law Commission report on UCC

Jairam Ramesh told a press conference that his party wants a debate on this report inside the Parliament

Accusing the BJP of raking up Uniform Civil Code (UCC) during the election season but forgetting it after the polls, Congress on Sunday demanded that the Law Commission report that said the UCC is not desirable or practical should be discussed in Parliament.

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said they were for equal rights for men and women and there should not be any inequality between the sexes while emphasising that there has been discussion about UCC within the Constituent Assembly and later.

Referring to the Justice B S Chouhan-headed Law Commission’s report in 2018 that did not favour UCC, Ramesh told a press conference here on the sidelines of the Bharat Jodo Yatra that his party wants a debate on this report inside the Parliament. However, he said, the government is not allowing that.

Read | BJP committed to bring Uniform Civil Code once democratic discussions are over: Shah

“The BJP uses it during the election season as a divisive issue for polarising the voters. They will forget it after the elections,” he said.

Ramesh’s remarks came as the BJP promised to bring UCC in Gujarat. On Sunday, BJP president JP Nadda said UCC is a national issue and the party would try to bring UCC in states.

Ramesh also referred to Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai’s remarks that India is a union of states while commenting on his state’s border row with Maharashtra and said that when Rahul Gandhi said this in Parliament, the BJP leaders created a furore.

“Home Minister Amit Shah and others had criticised Rahul Gandhi for his remarks. The Prime Minister even by mistake does not tell the truth but sometimes some BJP Chief Ministers tell the truth by mistake. This is one such instance,” he said.

Asked about allegations by the BJP that Rs 500 crore is the expense for the yatra in Madhya Pradesh, Ramesh said he did not find it necessary to respond to that question.

“The BJP never responds to the issues we raise during the yatra like economic distress, social polarisation, political dictatorship and the attack on the Constitution. They are scared about the success of the yatra. First they raised questions on the container, then T-shirt, then shoes. Now, the Assam Chief Minister, who has cleaned up his cases in the BJP washing machine, is talking about Rahul Gandhi’s beard. Talk to us about the issues,” he said.