Assam CM calls for implementation of Uniform Civil Code to stop polygamy

Stressing on the need to implement the UCC, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday that the law should be implemented in the greater interest of Muslim women otherwise polygamy would continue.

Stressing on the need to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday that the law should be implemented in the greater interest of Muslim women otherwise polygamy would continue.

"If Uniform Civil Code does not get implemented, the polygamy system will continue. A man will marry 3-4 times, curtailing the fundamental rights of a woman. Uniform Civil Code should be implemented for the greater interest of our Muslim women," said Chief Minister Sarma here.

Earlier on Saturday, Sarma said that the introduction of the legislation is necessary to give justice to all Muslim women.

"All the Muslims I met, equivocally wanted the implementation of UCC. No Muslim woman wants her husband to bring home three other wives. UCC is not my issue, it is an issue for all Muslim women. If they are to be given justice, after the scrapping of Triple Talaq, UCC will have to be brought," Sarma said while speaking to the media during his visit to New Delhi on Saturday.

Notably, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh has said a "high-powered" expert committee will be formed to prepare a draft for Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for the state.

Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Minority Welfare and Wakf Affairs Danish Ansari recently said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state will take steps towards implementing the Uniform Civil Code by holding discussions under quami chaupal.

Further, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur also had said that the issue of implementation of UCC is being examined in the state.

Meanwhile, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Tuesday termed the Uniform Civil Code 'an unconstitutional and anti-minorities move', and called the rhetoric for bringing the law an attempt by Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Central governments to divert attention from inflation, economy and rising unemployment.AIMPLB appealed to the Centre to not undertake the Uniform Civil Code.

The Uniform Civil Code is a proposal in India to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which apply to all citizens equally regardless of their religion, sex, gender and sexual orientation. Currently, the personal laws of various communities are governed by their religious scriptures.

The code comes under Article 44 of the Constitution which lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens throughout the territory of India.

Notably, in Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto, BJP has promised the implementation of UCC if it comes to power.