New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS): The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Sunday said that those opposing the Prime Minister's call for a “secular civil code” in the country are actually communal and not supportive of the welfare of Muslim women and children.
VHP national spokesperson, Vinod Bansal, questioned the logic behind the protests saying that the law has not even been made yet.
He argued that objections to the UCC are unfounded and illogical.
The VHP national spokesperson also highlighted that Article 44 of the Indian Constitution advocates for equal rights through a Uniform Civil Code and that High Courts and the Supreme Court have identified contradictions in existing laws.
According to Bansal, the UCC is not a religious issue but a constitutional necessity.
The VHP leader pointed out that regions where the UCC has been implemented, such as Uttarakhand and Goa, have not experienced any adverse effects.
Bansal contended that the opposition was not genuinely concerned about the welfare of the women but was rather driven by a reluctance to relinquish certain privileges.
He said that the UCC is about empowering women, strengthening the family system, and giving rights to children.
The VHP national spokesperson criticised opponents as being opposed to constitutional values and human rights. He said that the UCC aims to address and rectify existing injustices against women and children. "Are those who oppose UCC not anti-child, anti-women? Isn't this anti-constitutional or anti-human rights?" The VHP leader said that in the true sense, those who call themselves secular, are communal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech made a compelling case for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), stating: “It is the need of the hour to have a secular civil code and do away with discriminatory communal civil code”. He said that the laws which divide the society should be abolished.
Notably, this was the first time PM Modi addressed the UCC issue in the last 11 years, though it has been a part of the BJP’s Lok Sabha election manifestos since 1989.
The Uniform Civil Code is a proposed legal framework that aims to replace personal laws, specific to various religions, with a common set of laws governing every citizen. These personal laws cover areas such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption and maintenance.