Implement Goan civil code nationally, says Advani

Sandesh Prabhudesai in Panaji

Union Law Minister Ramakant Khalap should take steps to implement the common civil code as practised in his state of Goa, says Bharatiya Janata Party president L K Advani.

Advani, who was in Goa as part of his Swarn Jayanti Rath Yatra, raised the issue again. While the BJP's demand for the common civil code is suspected as a move at Hindu empowerment, Advani claims it will form the basis for justice to all castes and religions.

"Khalap's knowledge of the age-old Portuguese common civil code in Goa has made him qualified enough to take a bold step in this direction. If he does it, his name will go down in history," the BJP chief said. Before the 1996 general election, Khalap himself had promised to push for a national civil code on the basis of the Goan experience. But after he became the Union law minister, he backed off from his "firm stand" and sought a consensus on the matter. The code has been effective in Goa for the last 130 years.

The BJP's repeated demands come after a conference, held in Goa last week, attended by top jurists from the country and prominent delegates from Portugal. Most delegates felt the Portuguese civil code being practised in the former Portuguese colony successfully should be extended to the rest of the country.

Justice P B Sawant, chairman of the Press Council of India, suggested that the civil code could be drafted by incorporating the best provisions from all personal laws to allay fears that it would favour only Hindus. He had backing from Chief Justice J S Verma, the Chief Justice of India, and Justice M B Shah, the chief justice of the Bombay high court, who felt that the rest of the country should learn from Goa. They, however, also agreed that it needs a higher degree of national consensus.

"The Constitution provides for having a uniform civil code and the Supreme Court has been suggesting it time and again," Advani said. In the absence of it, he added, the country has been led to inequality and injustice.