Loading… / लोड हो रहा है…
Loading… / लोड हो रहा है…
Bharatiya Janata Party · 2019
Claim
Not supported by audit
Delivery
Not delivered
Nothing was drafted at the national level in this term. The Ministry of Law and Justice told Parliament on 20 December 2024 that 'No such guidelines were issued by the Government of India to State Governments for implementing the uniform civil code', and that both law commissions asked to examine the subject finished without producing anything: the 21st issued a consultation paper but 'no Report on the subject was submitted by them', and 'The term of the 22nd LCI has ended without submitting any Report on the subject.' The promise was to draft a code. Six years on there is no draft, and the ministry notes that personal law is in the Concurrent List, so states may legislate on it — as Uttarakhand has.
“Article 44 of the Constitution of India lists Uniform Civil Code as one of the Directive Principles of State Policy. BJP believes that there cannot be gender equality till such time India adopts a Uniform Civil Code, which protects the rights of all women, and the BJP reiterates its stand to draft a Uniform Civil Code, drawing upon the best traditions and harmonizing them with the modern times.”No CAG performance audit published
No CAG performance audit covering this scheme has been published. The absence of an audit is not evidence that the claim is either accurate or inaccurate.
This is a legislative promise rather than a scheme, so there is no audit to cite. The record is the Ministry of Law and Justice's own answer to Parliament.
No audit period to plot — no CAG performance audit covering this scheme has been published.
No central guidelines issued; neither the 21st nor the 22nd Law Commission submitted a report
Personal law falls under Entry 5 of the Concurrent List, so states can legislate independently. Uttarakhand enacted its own code, which the central government neither drafted nor directed.
Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4316, Uniform Civil Code — answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice
The 2019 manifesto's commitment is narrower than it is usually reported. It does not promise to enact a uniform civil code; it says the party "reiterates its stand to draft a Uniform Civil Code, drawing upon the best traditions and harmonizing them with the modern times."
Even on that narrower reading, the term produced nothing. The Ministry of Law and Justice answered a direct question in the Lok Sabha on 20 December 2024, six months after the term ended, and its answers are worth quoting exactly.
On central direction: "No such guidelines were issued by the Government of India to State Governments for implementing the uniform civil code."
On the drafting work: the proposal was referred to the 21st Law Commission, which "issued a consultation paper… for wider discussions. However, no Report on the subject was submitted by them." The 22nd Law Commission then "vide Public Notice dated 14.06.2023 decided again to solicit views and ideas of the public at large and recognised religious organisations over the subject. The term of the 22nd LCI has ended without submitting any Report on the subject."
Two commissions, two rounds of public consultation, no report from either. There is no draft uniform civil code at the national level, and the government has not published one of its own.
The constitutional position the ministry sets out explains part of why. "Personal laws relate to Entry 5 of List-III- Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, and hence, the States are empowered to legislate upon them", and the answer adds that district and regional councils under the Sixth Schedule can make laws on matters including inheritance. A state can legislate a code for itself, as Uttarakhand has done, without the Centre drafting one. That is a real development, but it is not the promise: the manifesto undertook that the party would draft the code, not that a state might.
This is a legislative promise, so there is no scheme to audit and no expenditure to verify. On the record as it stands at the end of the term the promise belonged to, nothing was drafted, no guidance was issued and no commission reported. Our verdict is not supported.
BJP Sankalp Patra 2019 — Lok Sabha election manifesto
“Through this Sankalp Patra, you would get a glimpse of the challenges of the yesteryears, the indomitable efforts made by 130 crore Indians to overcome those challenges and our collective vision for the future… There are two commitments that I am extremely passionate about — doubling of farmer income and housing for all, by the year 2022.”
Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4316, Uniform Civil Code — answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice
“(a): No such guidelines were issued by the Government of India to State Governments for implementing the uniform civil code. (b): The Government of India has referred the proposal to undertake examination of various issues relating to uniform civil code and to make recommendation thereon to 21st Law Commission of India (LCI). In this regard, a consultation paper was issued by the 21st LCI for wider discussions. However, no Report on the subject was submitted by them. The 22nd Law Commission of India vide Public Notice dated 14.06.2023 decided again to solicit views and ideas of the public at large and recognised religious organisations over the subject. The term of the 22nd LCI has ended without submitting any Report on the subject. (c): Personal laws relate to Entry 5 of List-III- Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, and hence, the States are empowered to legislate upon them.”