Rajya Sabha witnesses uproar over introduction of private member’s bill on UCC

The UCC is a proposed law to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which would apply to all citizens regardless of their religion, gender or sexual orientation.

New Delhi: Amid protests by the Opposition, the private member’s bill on Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

The bill was introduced by BJP member Kirodi Lal Meena.

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A total of 63 members voted for the bill while 23 votes were against it.

The Congress, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, and the DMK staged protests while the Biju Janata Dal walked out of the House.

The UCC has been in the BJP manifesto for many elections while the private member bill was pending but was not introduced.

The UCC is a proposed law to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which would apply to all citizens regardless of their religion, gender or sexual orientation.

As soon as this proposal was made in the House for the introduction of the bill, the Opposition MPs began voicing their protest that eventually led to a chaos.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar had to intervene as noisy scenes prevailed.

The Chairman assured the Opposition MPs that every action in the House would be conducted as per the laid down rules.

He had requested the opposition MPs to participate in the discussion over the bill and express their views.

Samajwadi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Ram Gopal Yadav, speaking on the UCC, said “marrying a cousin is considered good among Muslims but it is considered bad among Hindus… and in such a situation, how will the government implement the UCC?”

Besides, many MPs including Vaiko, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya and A.A. Rahim of the CPI-M also voiced their objection against the private member’s bill on UCC.

IUML’s Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala, P.V. Abdul Wahab said that “UCC cannot be implemented in India under any circumstances”.

Meanwhile, the MPs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continued supporting the UCC.

Amid ruckus, the Chairman had again intervened and urged all the members to speak only when their turn comes.

Another Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala, Elamaram Kareem of CPI-M, told the Chairman that he should direct Meena to withdraw the proposal as it would destroy the diversity of the country, adding things should not be imposed in this way.