SHILLONG, Aug 20: The pressure groups are unhappy with the remark of Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma that the discussion on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has limited value at this point as it is still a concept.
They insisted that the state government should be firm on opposing the Centre’s move tooth and nail.
HYC president, Robertjune Kharjahrin told The Shillong Times on Sunday that the very concept of the UCC is to dilute and replace the tradition, culture, and prevailing norms of different communities with a uniform law.
“The UCC will dilute and replace the tradition and customs on matters relating to marriage, divorce, adoption, maintenance, succession, inheritance, lineage, etc.,” he said, underlining the religious implications too.
“It is a concept which will lead to one nation, one custom; one nation, one law; and one nation, one religion. The very concept of UCC is bad, unacceptable, and needs to be rejected,” Kharjahrin said.
He said it is the duty of the Law Commission of India to listen to all stakeholders across the country before it analyses the UCC.
“If the CM of Meghalaya, his party or his government does not oppose the move, it will convey the acceptance of the concept because silence means consent,” he said, pointing out that there can be no middle ground on the UCC.
“We would like the CM to tell the people whether his government would accept or oppose the UCC and stop being diplomatic about the issues that matter for the people,” Kharjahrin said.
The government, he said, should write to the Law Commission opposing the idea of the UCC and pass a resolution in the House against the common code.
The HYC president said the BJP appears to have taken on board all its NDA partners in Meghalaya on issues such as the UCC, CAA, anti-conversion law, anti-tribal, anti-minority, and pro-Hindutva policies.
“We remember the National People’s Party MP accepting the CAB at the end of the day. We will not be surprised if the party accepts the UCC and other policies of the BJP in order to keep the CBI or the ED off the backs of the ministers accused of involvement in scams,” Kharjahrin said.
Echoing a similar concern, KSU general secretary, Donald V. Thabah said Sangma was among the first to oppose the move to implement the UCC. “But the CM appears to have softened his stand,” he said.
Sangma had earlier said the UCC in its present form goes against the very idea of India that celebrates diversity.
Thabah said the state government should tell the Centre not to make the UCC applicable in Meghalaya. The Khasi and Garo communities have their own customary practices in matters of inheritance, maintenance, divorce, social norms, and marriage, he pointed out.
FKJGP president Dundee Cliff Khongsit said it is pretty clear that the BJP-led NDA government is keen on implementing the UCC.
“Why should we wait till the draft of the UCC comes out? We understand that the UCC will affect our traditional customary practices,” he said.
He said there are strong possibilities that the BJP government at the Centre may table and pass the UCC before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. “The BJP can force its way in Parliament like it did with the CAA,” he said.
