Kerala Assembly unanimously passes resolution against Centre's move to implement UCC

The decision to move the resolution by the CPI(M)-led government came amid an ongoing campaign against the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) by the state's ruling Left and opposition UDF parties as well as different religious organisations.

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution against the Centre's move to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country. The resolution urged the BJP-led Central government to refrain from imposing the UCC. The Mizoram assembly had earlier in February unanimously approved an official resolution against any efforts to implement the UCC in the nation. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan moved the resolution in the Assembly condemning the UCC as a "unilateral and hasty" action on the part of the Centre.

CM Vijayan said that the Sangh Parivar's vision of the UCC was not in accordance with the Constitution but rather was based on the Manusmriti, a Hindu legal text.

"That has been made clear by Sangh Parivar long back. They are not trying to implement something that is there in the Constitution. There is no need to misunderstand it like that," he said.

CM Vijayan argued that the governing BJP government at the Centre had merely penalized Muslim personal law's divorce laws and had not taken any action to promote women's safety and security or to advance the welfare of the underprivileged.

The Congress-led opposition UDF, which supported the Left government's proposal, made a number of modifications and changes to the resolution after the Chief Minister moved it.

The Chief Minister read out the finalised resolution after taking the suggested changes into consideration. He said the state assembly was concerned and appalled by the Centre's decision to impose UCC as it was a hasty and unilateral action that would undermine the nation's secular character.

According to CM Vijayan, the Constitution simply mentions having a general civil law as a guiding principle and does not make it essential. He said that any regulation that forbids following and practising religious personal norms would be an infringement of the fundamental right to freedom of religion, which is granted by Article 25 of the Constitution.

He stated that the Kerala Assembly too has the same concern and thinks the imposition of UCC is a "non-secular move" to undermine the unity of the people and the country as a whole.

The UCC was a topic of dispute even in the Constituent Assembly, according to Vijayan, and B. R. Ambedkar's attitude at the time was that the Parliament could try to introduce a general civil code but he did not urge that it should be mandatory. The Chief Minister asserted that "he only suggested a possibility."