Road to 2024 | Uniform Civil Code: BJP is testing the waters but may not take the plunge yet

No move before G-20 meetings are over; party will also have in mind coming elections in states with large tribal populations, views of allies

Newly appointed Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the BJP is confident that whenever a Bill on a Uniform Civil Code is introduced, its passage will not be an issue. (Facebook/Arjun Ram Meghwal)

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AFTER THE BJP’s election loss in Karnataka, and the new spring in the Congress step in poll-bound Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, there seems to be a rising buzz around a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). With Article 370 scrapped and the Ram temple in Ayodhya well on its course, a UCC remains among the last unfulfilled items central to the Sangh Parivar agenda, and part of the BJP’s manifesto promise.

The Opposition has its knives out since the Law Commission last week sought opinions of the public and religious bodies on a UCC, and this might actually suit the BJP in nurturing the impression that the Narendra Modi government is serious about bringing it before the 2024 polls. However, the party is well aware of the obstacles and, sources said, will not rush anything through.

As per BJP leaders, there are unlikely to be any moves from the government on a UCC till the various G-20 meetings are over in September, as the Modi government will not want the shadow of a controversy over its moment on the global stage.

After that, the last chance for the government to initiate the legislative process on a UCC before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls will be the Winter Session of Parliament. But, by then, elections to the key heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh will be near, and the significant tribal populations there are unlikely to welcome any UCC that infringes on their traditions.

In Mizoram, another state that will go to polls in a few months, the state Assembly earlier this year passed a unanimous resolution opposing any move to implement a UCC. The resolution said “any steps taken or proposed to be taken for the enactment of a UCC in India” will terminate religious and social practices, cultures, and traditions of minorities. Given the ethnic fires in Manipur, the government will not risk any move that could further stir tribal fears in the Northeast.

In 2016, the Rashtriya Adivasi Ekta Parishad, a group that claims to work for Adivasi interests and to represent 11 crore tribals, had moved the Supreme Court seeking protection of their customs and religious practices, including their right to practise polygamy and polyandry, all of which would be on a UCC’s agenda.

The Adivasis have their own personal laws and do not fall in the category of Hindus as they worship nature instead of idols and perform burial of the dead, the Parishad had said. It had submitted that the marriage and death ceremonies of tribals were different from Hindu customs as well, and feared these might also see a ban.

Besides the fear of alienating the tribals and of a backlash, the BJP will also have in mind the wishes of friendly parties and potential allies – which it is re-wooing after the Karnataka results, to shore up numbers ahead of the 2024 polls.

The BJP has got good signals from the amiable Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on a UCC, with the party asking the government in Parliament to begin the process over it. The BJD’s support may just be enough for the BJP to get its numbers in order for a Bill.

But the ruling Andhra Pradesh party, YSRCP, which has also been friendly towards the BJP, has made it clear that it will not support the move, and neither will the Akali Dal. One of its longest allies till they broke off over the controversial farm laws, the Akali Dal has been dropping hints lately of a return to the NDA.

What the BJP is confident about is that whenever a Bill on a UCC is introduced, its passage will not be an issue. “We are not worried about the numbers. We are confident about the numbers if we bring a Bill,” newly appointed Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said last week, adding that the government is waiting for the Law Commission to submit its report.

There is also confidence in government ranks about the report going in their favour, particularly after the Law Commission took a stand aligned to the BJP’s views on sedition recently. A number of state BJP governments — Goa, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Assam — have already begun efforts to bring in a UCC in their respective states.

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Lessons from Manipur unrest

In Mizoram, another state that will go to polls in a few months, the Assembly earlier this year passed a unanimous resolution opposing any move to implement a UCC. The resolution said “any steps taken or proposed to be taken for the enactment of a UCC in India” will terminate religious and social practices, cultures, and traditions of minorities. Given the ethnic fires in Manipur, the government will not risk any move that could further stir tribal fears in the Northeast.

Sources said that the government could walk the middle path by bringing in a Bill that makes concessions for indigenous communities and their practices and customs, removed in shape and form from what has been talked about in the public domain.

Also read | Road to 2024 | The great Opposition unity plans, and the many imponderables

A senior Sangh Parivar leader who works closely with tribal communities hinted at the same too. While insisting that he did not want to react to speculation regarding a law, he said: “Let a draft come out. Whatever we are hearing in terms of concerns are just speculation. Who knows, the Bill may have provisions to address the concerns expressed by tribal groups?”

A clue of this lies in the Ranjana Desai-led expert committee appointed by the Uttarakhand government for a UCC, which recently was in Delhi to hold a meeting with top officers in the Central government.