‘Uniform Civil Code not against any religion, it’s for development of nation’: Nitin Gadkari

“Progressive, educated among the Muslim community do not marry four times. The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is not against any one religion, it is for the development of the nation,” said Union minister Nitin Gadkari at the Agenda Aaj Tak event on Friday.

He made this statement in response to a question regarding the remarks that came a day after his party colleague Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is against Muslim men having multiple wives.

Gadkari responded by saying that it is "unnatural" to have four wives. "Do you know any Muslim country that has two [civil] codes? If a man marries a woman, that is natural. But if a man marries four women that is unnatural,” he added.

The Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which comes under Article 44 of the Constitution of India, proposes to introduce personal laws that would affect all Indians equally, irrespective of their religion, gender and caste.

UCC refers to a common set of laws governing personal matters such as marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance, and succession. Currently, the personal laws of various communities are largely governed by their religion.

Gadkari further added that UCC shouldn’t be viewed from a political perspective and the law will largely benefit the poor of the nation.

The minister, while responding to a question on why the Centre is not planning on bringing a law to enforce UCC across the country, said the matter falls on a concurrent list and if state governments are on board, then it will benefit the nation.

On Thursday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that his party was against Muslim men having multiple wives.

Sarma, while criticising Lok Sabha MP Badruddin Ajmal, said that women can have "20-25 children" as per the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief's reported advice, but all future expenses - for food, clothing, and education - must be borne by the leader of the opposition.

He added that “There cannot be any right for a man living in independent India to marry three or four women [without divorcing the previous spouse]. We want to change such a system. We will have to work to give justice to Muslim women.”

Assam CM said, “We want ‘sabka saath sabka vikas’. If there are doctors from Assamese Hindu families, there should be doctors from Muslim families as well. Many MLAs don’t give such advice because they need the votes of Pomuwa Muslims.”

“Our government’s policy is clear. We work for the indigenous people, but we want progress for all. We don’t want the students of Muslims, especially the ‘Pomuwa’ Muslims, to study in madrassas and become ‘Jonab’ and ‘Imam’,” the chief minister added.