UCC Bill in Monsoon Session Unlikely, Congress Questions Parliamentary Panel's Intent in Discussing Issue

The government is unlikely to bring a bill on a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) during the forthcoming Monsoon session of Parliament since the Law Commission is still collating comments from stakeholders on it, even as the Congress sought to question a Parliamentary panel's intention and timing behind discussing the code in its meeting on Monday.

According to sources aware of the developments, the Rajya Sabha Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, which held its first meeting on the UCC, saw the Congress questioning the panel's timing behind discussing the contentious issue.

Congress Lok Sabha member Manickam Tagore sought to know from the committee, the real intent behind discussing the UCC at a time when several state assembly elections are lined up during the next few months.

Shiv Sena-UBT member Sanjay Raut, as per sources, kept a neutral stance on the UCC.

Overall, they added, the meeting was basically about understanding the concept of UCC as there is not much clarity on what exactly it actually entails, even among lawmakers.

The panel, which is led by BJP Rajya Sabha member Sushil Modi, had summoned officials from the Law Ministry and the Law Commission to hear their views on the public notice issued by the Commission on June 14 to seek views of various stakeholders on the UCC.

The 22nd Law Commission is learnt to have received 19 lakh suggestions from stakeholders since June 14 and sources pointed out that that the body has time till July 14 to seek views on UCC.

They further said that considering the fact that there is still time for the Law Commission to collate comments from stakeholders on UCC, it may take at least another couple of months to finalise its report on the matter.

Therefore the possibility of a bill on UCC being introduced by the government in the forthcoming monsoon session (which commences from July 20), seems unlikely.

All the three Trinamool Congress members incidentally were absent from the meeting. Both Rajya Sabha member Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Lok Sabha member Kalyan Banerjee had written to the committee chairman Sushil Modi to reschedule the meeting as they won't be able to attend it due to coming panchayat elections in West Bengal.