Shillong, Sept 21: Meghalaya government on Thursday turned down the opposition’s demand for passing an official resolution to oppose the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) on the ground that the Centre is yet to come up with a Bill on the matter.
The resolution to oppose the UCC was moved by opposition Congress legislator from Mawhati Charles Marngar and supported by members of opposition All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) and Voice of the People Party (VPP) in the Assembly.
In his reply, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said the State government is very much against the concept and idea of the UCC as it goes against the idea of India which is ‘diversity’.
However, the government cannot just pass a resolution prematurely without knowing the content of the UCC Bill.
“The question arises that can we as legislature oppose or pass a resolution without knowing the content of the UCC Bill. Outside the House, we can speak on the basis of what we think may happen but as a legislature today if we are to oppose the UCC, the first thing we need to have in front of us is the UCC Bill,” Sangma said.
He said it doesn’t mean just because other States have done it, Meghalaya too should pass a resolution. “That is why, we need to apply our mind. Therefore, it is only when we see the UCC Bill then we take a stand as a government,” he added.
Further, the chief minister also assured that the House will stand united to oppose any move by anybody including Parliament to dilute identity, rights and culture of the indigenous people of Meghalaya.
It is to be mentioned here that Kerala was the first State to officially adopt resolution in the Assembly to oppose UCC. Nagaland Assembly and Mizoram Assembly have also passed official resolutions to oppose the controversial code.
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