Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Wednesday pushed for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) covering all religions, saying, "If a person named Ramchandra marries once, then a person named Rahim can also be expected to marry only once."
He also said his government was moving forward with introducing a bill on the UCC during the monsoon session of the state Assembly beginning July 20.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the new 300-bed building of the Indore District Hospital, built at a cost of ₹83.13 crore, Yadav said there should not be different laws for people of different religions in the country.
A committee constituted to draft a UCC for Madhya Pradesh submitted its report to Yadav on Monday, which was then forwarded to the Law Department.
The report of the multi-member panel, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, recommended the exclusion of tribals from the scope of the UCC.
The high-level panel was tasked with studying prevailing systems related to various personal and family matters, such as marriage, divorce, maintenance, inheritance, adoption and live-in relationships.
The Chief Minister said the state government was moving forward towards implementing the UCC in the state.
The committee interacted with people from all religions, sections and various political parties across the state on the UCC and collected suggestions from more than 10 lakh citizens, he said.
Yadav added that there are different laws for Hindus and Muslims at present in matters like marriage and inheritance.
"When our country is one, why should there be different laws for people of different religions? If a person named Ramchandra marries once, then a person named Rahim can also be expected to marry only once," he said.
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Targeting the Congress, Yadav alleged that the main opposition party always views such issues from a "Hindu-Muslim perspective".
"I would like to say responsibly that on the UCC too, the Congress adopted its usual double-faced stance. Due to concerns about its vote bank, the Congress did not attend the committee meeting and did not express its opinion on the UCC," he said.
This is why the Congress avoids both issues, be it the UCC or the Bhojshala case in Dhar, according to him.
Referring to the Bhojshala case pending in the Supreme Court, Yadav said, "The state government is committed to abide by the court's decision. Whatever the court decides, we will accept it seriously and proceed to implement it."
