Guwahati, 27 May (HS): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday strongly defended the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill in the Assembly, asserting that the legislation aims to ensure equality and end minority appeasement while excluding indigenous communities from its purview.

Speaking during the debate on the UCC Bill, the Chief Minister said the law would not apply to tribal and indigenous communities, stating that “medicine has been given where the disease exists.” He maintained that the Bill seeks to regulate marriage, divorce, inheritance and live-in relationships through uniform legal provisions.

Launching a sharp attack on the Congress, Sarma alleged that the party has “surrendered before communal forces” and now represents only “Quran and Shariat.” He said the present-day Congress no longer reflects the ideals of leaders like Gopinath Bordoloi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who had envisioned a Uniform Civil Code in the early years after Independence.

The Chief Minister said Assam would become the third state in the country to implement the UCC and claimed that the NDA’s electoral success reflected public support for such reforms. He added that the UCC would ensure equal property rights for sons and daughters, make maintenance mandatory during legal disputes, and impose stricter rules on second marriages and live-in relationships.

Sarma further stated that under the proposed law, a second marriage in violation of the code could attract up to seven years of imprisonment. He also criticised support for polygamy, calling it “a matter of shame for a civilised society,” while asserting that fundamentalism does not represent Islam.

The Chief Minister urged public representatives to uphold secularism and the Constitution instead of supporting religion-based legal systems, adding that the idea of UCC has a long historical background in India and was originally initiated by Congress leaders long before the BJP and Jan Sangh took it up politically.------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash