BJP has released its manifesto. It was named ‘BJP’s resolution-Modi’s guarantee’. There are many things in the manifesto but one thing is most special that is the implementation of Uniform Civil Code in the country.
There has been discussion about Uniform Civil Code for a long time but till date it has not been implemented in the country. Yes, the BJP government has definitely implemented it in Uttarakhand, but even after 76 years of independence, Uniform Civil Code has not been implemented in the entire country.
This is a big issue which BJP has raised in its manifesto. BJP has included Uniform Civil Code in its manifesto. If we go into history, we find that Uniform Civil Code would have already been implemented in the entire country if Pandit Nehru had not opposed it due to Muslim appeasement and had listened to the then President Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
However, the Hindu Personal Law Bill was passed in 1956 itself. But no effort was made to implement Uniform Civil Code, whereas the first President of India, Dr. Rajendra had told Pandit Nehru in 1951 to oppose the implementation of only Hindu Law in the law, that if the existing law is inadequate and objectionable then all the citizens Why is Uniform Civil Code not implemented?
Why are only Hindus being chosen to follow the legal process? Despite the then President’s request, the Congress did not take any steps for a Uniform Civil Code and even then no efforts were made in this regard.
Efforts to implement Hindu Personal Law began in 1951 and the Nehru government brought the Hindu Code Bill. This was strongly opposed by the then President Rajendra Prasad. He also wrote letters to Pandit Nehru in this regard.
On September 14, 1951, President Dr. Rajendra Prasad had written a letter to Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru opposing the introduction of the Hindu Code Bill. He had said that if the provisions being made through this law are beneficial and beneficial for the people, then why are they being brought only for one community i.e. Hindus, why are other communities also deprived of its benefits. going? He wrote that if the existing laws are inadequate and objectionable then why should not a Uniform Civil Code be implemented for all citizens. He said that before signing this bill, it should be examined on merit.
On 15 September, he wrote a letter to Pandit Nehru, Pandit Nehru sent him a reply on the same day. He wrote to the President that what you have said about examining the bill on merit before approving it is a serious issue. This may create a situation of conflict between the President, the Government and the Parliament. The President does not have the right to go against the bill passed by the Parliament.
In response to this letter, Dr. Prasad wrote another letter to Nehru on 18 September in which he enumerated the powers given to the President under the Constitution. He also wrote that he would not like to create a conflict in this matter. After this correspondence between the Prime Minister and the President, the opinion of the then Attorney General MC Setalvad was taken in this regard. Setalvad, in his opinion given on 21 September 1951, said that the President would act on the advice of the Council of Ministers. The advice of the Council of Ministers is binding on the President.
After this the matter went into cold storage. Congress never tried to implement Uniform Civil Code to maintain its vote bank due to Muslim appeasement. If the words of Dr. Rajendra Prasad had been accepted at that time, Uniform Civil Code would have been implemented in this country.
Disclaimer: The above views are the personal views of the author.