Stand of Sikh, Jain and Christian community cannot be ignored: Sharad Pawar on UCC

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], June 29 : Without opening his cards on the Uniform Civil Code, Nationalist Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said that the stand of the Sikh, Jain and Christian communities should also be cleared before talking about the implementation of UCC.
Pawar said that the stand of the Sikh, Jain and Christian communities should be made clear. He said that the Sikh Community has a different stand on it perhaps.
"The stand of Sikh, Jains and Christian communities should be cleared. I am worried about one thing, I heard that the Sikh community has a different stand. I am collecting more information but I have listened to that the Sikh community is not in favour of UCC. The stand of this community can not be ignored," he stated.
"After getting complete information about Uniform Civil Code, our party's stand will be cleared," Pawar added.
He said that this is an attempt to divert the mind of the people and that the central government should first introduce reservations for women in the Lok Sabha and state Legislative Assemblies before talking about the implementation of UCC.
"Central government has given this issue (Uniform Civil Code) to the Law Commission and the Commission has sought proposals from various organisations. As of now, the Commission has received 900 proposals. I have no idea what is mentioned in those proposals, they did not make it public. Law Commissions, like responsible institutions, should study and work on the proposal/suggestion given to them," said the NCP chief.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Daljit Singh Cheema on Wednesday said that the implementation of UCC will affect the civil rights of minorities and unrest and tension will start in the country.
Cheema, while talking to ANI, said that the 21st Law Commission has already opined in its consultation report that UCC is neither desirable nor feasible.
"SAD is of the firm view that implementation of UCC is not in the interests of the minorities in the country. The 21st Law Commission has already opined in its consultation report that UCC is neither desirable nor feasible. Implementation of UCC will affect the civil rights of minorities and unrest and tension will start in the country," Cheema said on Wednesday.
The concept of UCC has been a topic of discussion for the past four years, and it has once again come into focus following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent remarks ahead of the elections in Madhya Pradesh.
On Tuesday, PM Modi, while batting for the UCC in Bhopal said that the country cannot run on two laws and that Uniform Civil Code was part of the Constitution.
"Today people are being instigated in the name of UCC. How can the country run on two (laws)? The Constitution also talks of equal rights...Supreme Court has also asked to implement UCC. These (Opposition) people are playing vote bank politics," he said.
Referring to the failure of succeeding governments to "secure" the UCC for its citizens despite the codification of the Hindu law in 1956, a Division Bench of the Supreme Court in 2019 had told the state to "endeavour" and bring the common code. The court had said that "despite the exhortations of this court in the case of Shah Bano in 1985, the government has done nothing to bring the Uniform Civil Code".
PM's statement triggered a nationwide debate as several opposition leaders have accused PM Modi of raising the UCC issue for political gains ahead of the upcoming elections.