UCC: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) voiced its concern to the Law Commission against the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC), saying enforcing it without a countrywide interfaith consensus will "violate the spirit of the Constitution" and generate fear and distrust.
"Uniformity should not be confused with unity. India symbolises unity in diversity and not in uniformity. Only a truly federal structure can resolve our problems and make India a global superpower," said Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal in a letter sent to the member secretary of the 22nd Law Commission.
"This is important as peace and communal harmony in the sensitive border state of Punjab must always remain a top national priority," he wrote.
Urging the Centre not to go ahead with the idea of UCC, Badal asked it respect the sentiments of the Sikh community before taking any decision on the issue.
The SAD president also informed the Commission that the party had held consultations with different stake-holders in the state and outside.
"On the basis of that, the widespread impression we gathered is that the UCC, if implemented, will definitely affect the freedom of minority communities of different caste, creed and religions," he said.
The party leader also said it believed in safeguarding democracy and federalism seeks greater autonomy to the states.
He said a genuine federal structure in the country was a prerequisite for protecting the fundamental rights of religious, linguistic, ethnic, and regional minorities.
A truly integrated, federal vision was the best guarantee for economic progress to give the country "its destined role as a global economic super power," he also said.
Badal said that since no draft of the proposed UCC had been prepared and circulated by the Law Commission, it was impossible to make any tangible suggestions on the issue.
He said a concrete draft that outlines all details of the proposed legislation should be circulated among the people throughout the country so that they could give their opinions.
The issue, he argued, had already been examined in depth by the 21st Law Commission which also in its report in 2018 noted that UCC was neither necessary nor desirable.
The SAD said the Commission also observed that reforms in family laws of different communities would provide a better guarantee for securing the rights of women and children than bringing in uniform civil laws.
It also detailed how the Commission had stressed on not compromising cultural diversity or doing something that posed even a remote threat to the idea of 'unity in diversity' which will eventually pose threat to the country's territorial integrity.
The party said in the light of the observations there was nothing significant that happened after 2018 that should compel the Union government to seek views of stakeholders afresh.
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