'Ideology of BJP Should Be Considered Ideology of Country': Law Minister Rijiju

Rijiju said the central government agrees to the BJP’s demand for bringing Uniform Civil Code in the country.

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju.

(Photo: Rajya Sabha)

While discussing the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022, in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, 26 July, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said that Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government agrees to the BJP’s demand for the promulgation of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country.

While calling same-sex marriages or live-in relationships a “social evil,” BJP’s Godda MP Nishikant Dubey said that India’s Constitution makers had suggested that there should be a uniform civil code in the country. Dubey added that such “social evils” have now exaggerated the need for UCC.

He added that while some states (Goa) already have a UCC, and while states like Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are trying to become states with a UCC, “has the time not come after 75 years of independence, that we bring in a Uniform Civil Code for the entire country, to define relationships such as between a father and a son, a husband and his wife.”

To this, Rijiju replied, “You know what the government’s ideology is. We want the ideology of our party to be considered the ideology of the country.”

This statement by the law minister led to an uproar in the Lok Sabha, to which Rijiju retorted, “I am proud of this.”

The Family Courts (Amendment) Bill 2022 was later passed by the Lok Sabha.

Since the Parliament session began last week, both Houses have suffered frequent adjournments as the Opposition protests against inflation, hike in Goods and Services Tax prices, and suspension of Congress MPs, demanding a discussion on price hike in the Houses.

Meanwhile, a total of 24 MPs have been suspended (four Congress MPs from Lok Sabha for the whole Monsoon Session and 23 MPs from Rajya Sabha for the remainder of the current week).