Kerala Assembly passes resolution against Centre’s ‘hasty, unilateral’ move to impose UCC in country

In the resolution, Vijayan said the Kerala Legislative Assembly “expresses its concern and anxiety over the Union government’s move to foist the UCC. This House evaluates the move as a hasty and unilateral one of the Union Government to do away with the secular character of the Constitution.” It added that the Centre should keep away from any move on matters that would impact the people of the country.

As per the resolution, the Constitution has made reference to the UCC only in the Directive Principles of State Policy. “The directive principles of Article 44 of the Constitution cannot be mandated to be enforced even by the judiciary. It should be realised that the architects of the Constitution had adopted that stand after much deliberation,” it said.

Today, the Kerala Assembly resoundingly passed a resolution against the Union Government’s unilateral and hasty move to impose the #UniformCivilCode. The implementation of the UCC without engaging in democratic debate or seeking consensus poses a significant threat to the unity… pic.twitter.com/zFk4pn7fWH

— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) August 8, 2023

The resolution added that India is a country that has guaranteed secularism in the very Preamble of the Constitution. The Constitution has guaranteed a citizen the freedom to believe in any religion and live accordingly, as a fundamental right. While the freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution includes the right to follow and practice religious personal rules, any legislation preventing that practice would amount to denial and violation of the constitutional right to freedom of religion.

It also pointed out that Article 44 of the Constitution has only stated that the state shall endeavour to bring in a common civil code. It should happen over a period of time through consensus and discussions with different religious segments.

“It is a matter of concern that the Union Government has come forward with a unilateral move for implementing UCC without taking any attempt to create a consensus over the issue among various segments in society. The Kerala Legislative Assembly also shares that concern of the people. The assembly considers that move as a communal one to shatter the unity of the people and is detrimental for the unity of the country,” it added.

In recent years, the Kerala Assembly has passed resolutions against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and farm laws passed by the Union government. In January 2020, under chief minister Vijayan, Kerala became the first state to pass a resolution against CAA. In 2021, the state Assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging the Union government to accede to the demands of the agitating farmers and take immediate measures to repeal the three contentious farm laws.

In May 2021, after the present government came to power, the Assembly unanimously passed another resolution demanding the recall of Lakshadweep administrator Praful Khoda Patel and the withdrawal of his orders which had put the people of the islands on a warpath. In July last year, the Assembly passed another unanimous resolution urging the Centre to exclude human settlements from the purview of the eco-sensitive zone of protected forest tracts.