(Photo: The Quint)
Barely a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) stormed back to power in Gujarat but lost in Himachal Pradesh, it decided to give the green signal to Rajya Sabha member Kirodi Lal Meena from Rajasthan, to introduce his private member’s Bill— ‘The Uniform Civil Code in India Bill, 2020’ amid vociferous protests from the Opposition members in the Upper House.
This indicates that the party remains intent on pursuing its policy of Hindutva and politics of communal polarisation. Significantly, Rajasthan is among the clutch of five states, including three from the Hindi/Hindu/Hindutva heartland where Assembly Elections are due next winter.
When it comes to UCC, the party’s steadfastness is evident from the fact that the Bill was tabled by Meena almost three years ago but there was no progress till after the party was voted out of power in Himachal Pradesh.
UCC Bill Was Long-Standing in Parliament
The Bill was first listed for being moved in the post-lunch session on 7 February 2020. However, when the member’s name was called out in the Upper House, he was found to be absent only to appear later and move his second private member’s Bill, comparatively on a non-contentious matter that provided for special financial assistance to Rajasthan for the welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes.
There was little doubt that with the anti-CAA agitation still raging, and Delhi riots triggered just a fortnight prior to American President Donald Trump’s State visit, the BJP chose to lie low on the UCC Bill.
Thereafter, Meena’s Bill was listed for tabling five times, but on each occasion, it didn’t materialise.
This story was originally published in thequint.com . Read the full story here