Assam CM Sarma Urges to Implement UCC to Cease Polygamy

By: WE Staff | Monday, 2 May 2022

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma emphasised the importance of implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), stating that polygamy would persist if the law was not enforced.

Chief Minister Sarma stated, “If Uniform Civil Code does not get implemented, the polygamy system will continue. A man will marry 3-4 times, curtailing the fundamental rights of a woman. Uniform Civil Code should be implemented for the greater interest of our Muslim women.”

Earlier on Saturday, Sarma stated that the legislation is required in order to provide justice to all Muslim women. "All the Muslims I met, equivocally wanted the implementation of UCC. No Muslim woman wants her husband to bring home three other wives. UCC is not my issue, it is an issue for all Muslim women. If they are to be given justice, after the scrapping of Triple Talaq, UCC will have to be brought," Sarma mentioned this to the media on Saturday during his visit to New Delhi.

Pushkar Singh, the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, has announced the formation of a "high-powered" expert committee to create a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for the state. Danish Ansari, the Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Minority Welfare and Wakf Affairs, recently stated that the state's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government will have discussions under quami chaupal in order to implement the Uniform Civil Code.

In addition, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur stated that the state is examining the problem of UCC implementation. Meanwhile, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has called the Uniform Civil Code "an unconstitutional and anti-minorities move," and has accused the Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and central governments of using rhetoric to divert attention away from inflation, the economy, and rising unemployment.

The AIMPLB asked the Centre to abandon the Uniform Civil Code project. The Uniform Civil Code is an Indian proposal to draught and implement personal laws that apply to everyone, regardless of religion, gender, or sexual orientation. Personal laws are currently governed by religious scriptures in a variety of civilizations.

The law is based on Article 44 of the Constitution, which mandates that the government must endeavour to guarantee that Indian citizens have access to a single civil code. Notably, if elected to power in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has promised to introduce UCC.