With the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya all but completed and Article 370 diluted, the third big core issue of the BJP — the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) as a tool for “gender equality” — and the idea of a “One Nation, One Election” have gained prominence in the BJP manifesto.
With its ideological to-do list now much lighter, the UCC and the issue of simultaneous elections are likely to be the new tasks around which the BJP will mobilise.
Both UCC and another important issue, “One Nation, One Election” find mention in the section on “Modi’s Guarantee on Good Governance” within the manifesto, which points to the two issues being a major part of any government formed by the BJP going ahead.
“Article 44 of the Constitution lists Uniform Civil Code (UCC) as one of the Directive Principles of State Policy. BJP believes that there cannot be gender equality till such time as Bharat adopts a Uniform Civil Code, which protects the rights of all women, and the BJP reiterates its stand to draw a Uniform Civil Code, drawing upon the best traditions and harmonising them with modern time,” says the manifesto.
The thematic connecting of gender parity and customary laws that came in the way of it was already drawn by the BJP when Parliament passed the law banning Triple Talaq.
UCC has not been an unproblematic issue, with one law commission report not recommending it, while another committee is still examining the issue. BJP-ruled State governments have however taken some steps towards it with Uttarakhand under Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami having recently passed a law in this regard.
The BJP, while ideologically committed to the UCC, has been careful about customary laws with regard to tribal communities. As recently as last year, a Parliamentary Committee on Law had said that tribal communities should be kept out of the purview of the UCC. The panel was headed by senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi.
The Prime Minister on Sunday, at the launch of the BJP’s manifesto, reiterated his party’s commitment to implementing UCC.
On the question of “One Nation, One Election”, the BJP’s manifesto said that the Modi government had set up a high-level panel headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to examine the issues related to simultaneous elections and “will work towards the implementation” of the committee’s recommendations. Interestingly, the manifesto says that the BJP will “make provisions for a common electoral roll for all levels of elections”, a part of its recommendation to the Kovind committee.
