Ahmedabad: A member of the Bar Council of Gujarat (BCG), Paresh Vaghela, urged the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) committee to conduct a plebiscite in Gujarat to gauge public opinion and to have a diverse drafting committee, among other suggestions.
Advocate Vaghela registered his objection to the constitution of the UCC panel and requested the UCC committee chairperson, Justice (retd) Ranjana Desai, to “form a diverse drafting committee including religious leaders, tribal representatives and legal experts to craft a UCC free of majoritarian bias, addressing all personal laws equitably, like abolishing HUF tax benefits alongside polygamy, if at all necessary.”
He emphasised B R Ambedkar’s approach towards reforms and his notion of UCC, terming the present form of UCC under the BJP as “flawed and divisive”. In his representation before the chairperson, he demanded, “Conduct a state-wide plebiscite to gauge public opinion, ensuring the UCC reflects the will of all communities as Ambedkar advocated for voluntary adoption.”
Vaghela called for the need to educate citizens on UCC’s implications, to counter misinformation and foster dialogues. He pointed out the inefficacy of laws drafted and implemented in the past without taking the people into confidence and cited examples of laws aimed at ending caste-based discrimination.