PM Modi forms Group of Ministers for deliberations over Uniform Civil Code

Sources said that the Group of Ministers is headed by former law minister Kiren Rijiju while Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, and Minister incharge for Northeast G Kishan Reddy are its members.

New Delhi: Week after making a strong pitch for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), Prime Minister Narendra Modi has formed a Group of Ministers (GoM) for further course of action over the matter. Sources said that the Group of Ministers is headed by former law minister Kiren Rijiju. Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, and Minister incharge for Northeast G Kishan Reddy are the other members of the Group of Ministers, sources said.

It is learnt that the Group of Ministers has already begun deliberations on the UCC issue. The formation of the Group of Ministers comes over a week after PM Modi made a strong pitch for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code across the country. PM Modi while addressing a rally in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal asked why the country should have two set of laws for the people.

PM Modi also took a dig at the opposition Congress saying that the party was misleading Muslims on the issue of UCC. Uniform Civil Code refers to the common set of laws for the citizens of laws governing personal matters like marriage, divorce, property rights and adoption irrespective of religion. Although the Constitution recommends to implement the UCC in the country, the framers of the Constitution have left it to the discretion of the government of the day to take a call given the sensitivity of the matter.

Pertinently, the Constitution under Article 44, one of the Directive Principles of State Policy, recomends a Uniform Civil Code for all citizens.