While addressing the 10th edition of Chhatra Sansad on Friday at Vigyan Bhavan, the Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that Uniform Civil Code should be optional and cannot be coerced upon the Indian citizens.
He asserted, “The very fact of the Uniform Civil Code is that it cannot be forced upon you, it has to be optional and not compulsory. It has to be voluntary and that will be a great step.”
Randeep Surjwewala said that one should not shy away from talking about caste-based violence in India. He said, “When I discriminate and violate your rights because you are from the scheduled tribes or backward classes, why should you shy away from stating the naked truth in public? That is the only way to societal reforms and the realisation that caste-based violence is an ugly menace that prevails in our society.”
Randeep Surjewala stated that the menace can only be cured through a change of mindset and by punishing those involved in hate crimes against the SCs, and STs. He added that poverty and caste governed Indian society and that students should “deliberate” on both caste and class divide.
Read- Filing PILs for the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code is a bad idea, here’s why
Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has been a part of the BJP’s manifesto for a long time. It proposes a uniform family and personal laws for all the citizens of the country, in place of current separate laws for each religion. A voluntary UCC will be meaningless, as it will not bring the equity that it aims to bring. If Randeep Surjewala’s proposal is accepted, for example, a Muslim man may choose to follow polygamy or monogamy, depending on whether he chooses to follow UCC or not. This means, such a situation will not be different from the current situation.