‘UCC will come, we will…’: Law minister Arjun Meghwal

The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) ‘will come,’ law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal asserted on Tuesday, though he stressed that the BJP will ‘make it happen’ by discussing it with the party’s allies in the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
UCC is among the first three promises the BJP inherited from its predecessor, the Jana Sangh.
“We have fulfilled the other two promises – the Ram Temple in Ayodhya (opened in January) and abrogation of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir (August 2019),” Meghwal told NDTV on the day of prime minister Narendra Modi’s government completing 100 days of its third consecutive term.
On UCC, Meghwal said the Law Commission was working on it. He also talked about BJP-led states like Uttarakhand and Goa; the former plans to bring UCC by November, while there is a UCC-like code in the latter.
“The prime minister has declared it (civil code) in his Independence Day speech from the Red Fort. We will talk to the allies and certainly takes steps in the direction,” the BJP leader stated further.
The Uniform Civil Code aims to do away with personal laws from various communities on key issues such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption, and bring all citizens on par. However, the proposed law is not supported by opposition parties.
Several NDA members, such as JD(U), TDP, and LJP (Ram Vilas), too, have either opposed UCC or taken a cautious stand on the matter.
Unlike its first two terms, the BJP does not have a single-party majority in the Lok Sabha in the third. Therefore, it needs support of allies to push through reforms.
Facing opposition from fellow NDA constituents, the government has already reversed policies such as lateral entry and Waqf Amendment Bill (the latter sent to a parliamentary committee).