Bring UCC directly to Parliament: Omar challenges BJP
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday challenged the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government at the Centre to introduce the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill directly in Parliament rather than using a State-by-State “backdoor route”.
Omar also reminded them that several National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies were “opposed to the idea of the UCC”.
Omar was commenting in response to Home Minister Amit Shah's statement to introduce UCC in all 21 BJP-NDA-ruled States before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
“If you have the numbers, bring it to Parliament. Why are you doing it separately in different States?” Abdullah said, arguing that the UCC could not be described as universal if it applied only to BJP-ruled States.
“The whole country is not BJP-ruled. There are several States and territories that the BJP does not govern,” he said. Abdullah also pointed to differences within the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, saying some of its allies were not in favour of implementing the UCC in their States.
“According to reports, the Janata Dal (United) has directly said that it will not be implemented in Bihar. So if their own allies are not ready for it, how can they say that it should be implemented across the country?” he said. I don’t think they will be able to pass this in the Parliament. That is why they are taking the (BJP-ruled States) path,” he said. He said a measure of such significance should be decided by Parliament, which represents the country as a whole.
“Something of this nature should not be decided by individual states. It has to be decided by the country as a whole,” Abdullah said.”The country as a whole is represented not in the states but in Parliament. Let the legislation come to Parliament.”
Abdullah also questioned why the Government was pursuing the UCC through states while other major legislative proposals had been discussed in the context of Parliament.”So far, whenever they have talked about legislation in Parliament, whether it is One Nation, One Election or reservation, they have not brought it to Parliament,” he said. “Now, with this too, they are talking about bringing it to the states. Bring it to Parliament and let us see whether you can pass it.”
On reports of a reduction in Chinese deployments along the Line of Actual Control, Abdullah welcomed any move that could reduce tensions along the India-China frontier. “Anything that reduces tensions on the Line of Control or the Line of Actual Control is a good step, particularly for those people who live close to it,” he said.
Abdullah said residents living near the LoC and LAC were particularly affected by tensions and military deployments.”We know how difficult it is for people to live close to the LoC or LAC,” he said. “So, if there is any step that reduces deployments along the Line of Actual Control, that is a good step.” He said he hoped a similar improvement would eventually take place along the Line of Control.
“Similarly, we hope that, over time, things will get better along the Line of Control as well,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the BRICS summit’s condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack was a success of India’s foreign policy.
“The fact that Pahalgam itself was condemned (at BRICS summit) is a big thing. Please see how many allies of Pakistan were in that room. Therefore, for even Pahalgam to be mentioned by name, that in itself is a success of our foreign policy,” he added.
