New Delhi, 26 May: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said a Uniform Civil Code for the entire country will be implemented within the next five years after extensive consultations with all stakeholders if the BJP returns to power.
\nIn a wide-ranging interview with PTI, Shah said the Modi government in its next term will also implement \u2018One Nation, One Election\u2019 as the time has come for the elections to be held simultaneously in the country.
\nThe senior BJP leader further said the simultaneous elections will also bring down costs.
\nAsked about the possibility of moving elections to winter or some other time of the year as against the current one being held in scorching heat, Shah said, \u201cWe can think over it. If we prepone one election, it can be done. It should be done. This is also the time of students\u2019 vacation. It creates lots of problems too. Over time, the election (Lok Sabha) gradually moved to this period (during summer).\u201d Talking about the Uniform Civil Code, Shah said, \u201cThe UCC is a responsibility left to us, our Parliament and the state legislatures of our country since independence by the makers of our Constitution.\u201d \u201cThe guiding principles decided for us by the Constituent Assembly include the Uniform Civil Code. And even at that time, legal scholars like K M Munshi, Rajendra Babu, Ambedkar Ji had said that there should not be laws based on religion in a secular country. There should be a Uniform Civil Code,\u201d he said.
\nThe Union Home Minister said the BJP has done an experiment in Uttarakhand where it has a majority government as it is a subject of states and the Centre.
\nThe UCC has been on the BJP\u2019s agenda since the 1950s and recently it was enacted in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand. \u201cI believe that the Uniform Civil Code is a huge social, legal, and religious reform. The law made by the Uttarakhand government should undergo social and legal scrutiny. Religious leaders should also be consulted,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cWhat I mean is that there should be an extensive debate on this. And if there is anything to change in the model law made by the Uttarakhand government after this extensive debate. Because someone will definitely go to court. The judiciary\u2019s opinion will also come.
\n\u201cAfter that, the state legislatures and Parliament of the country should think seriously over this and a law must be enacted. That is why we have written in our \u2018sankalp patra\u2019 that the BJP aims to have a Uniform Civil Code for the entire country,\u201d he said.
\nAsked if it can be done within the next five years, Shah said it will be done in this period only. \u201cFive years are a sufficient period,\u201d he said.
\nAsked about simultaneous polls, Shah said, \u201cWe will also make every effort to achieve \u2018One Nation, One Election\u2019. This should also be discussed.\u201d \u201cThe Prime Minister had formed the Ram Nath Kovind committee. I was also a member of it. Its report has been submitted. The time has come that elections should be held simultaneously in the country,\u201d he added. (PTI)
\nAsked whether a bill on this can be introduced in the next session if the BJP returns to power, Shah said, \u201cOur resolution is for five years. We will bring it during this period.\u201d In its manifesto for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has said that Article 44 of the Constitution lists Uniform Civil Code as one of the Directive Principles of State Policy.
\n\u201cBJP believes that there cannot be gender equality till such time Bharat adopts a Uniform Civil Code, which protects the rights of all women, and the BJP reiterates its stand to draw a Uniform Civil Code, drawing upon the best traditions and harmonising them with the modern times,\u201d the manifesto has said.
\nOn \u2018One Nation, One Election\u2019, the BJP manifesto mentioned that the Modi government had set up a high-powered Committee to examine the issues of conducting simultaneous elections and it will work towards the implementation of the recommendations of the committee.
\nIt has also promised to make provisions for a common electoral roll for all levels of elections. PTI<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi, 26 May: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said a Uniform Civil Code for the entire country will be implemented within the next five years after extensive consultations with all stakeholders if the BJP returns to power. In a wide-ranging interview with PTI, Shah said the Modi government in its next term will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-241077","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-national"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241077\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}