Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for “one nation, one law” earlier this week, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPB) held an emergency meeting Tuesday night to oppose the government’s plan to usher in the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
The AIMPLB has decided to stitch together a coalition of different minorities, including Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains to press for retention of each community’s personal laws. The members are likely to submit a resolution to the Law Commission in the first week of July.
“It is wrong of the Prime Minister to allege that two laws cannot operate simultaneously in the country. He would know that even the Indian Penal Code is not uniformly applied in every State,” claimed S.Q.R. Ilyas, spokesperson, AIMPLB.
“There are separate laws on cow slaughter in each State. If there is no uniformity on criminal matters, why this relentless urge for uniformity on civil matters, riding roughshod over the fundamental rights granted to each citizen of the country?” he asked.
The Board has also had meetings with noted Opposition leaders, including Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray and Akhilesh Yadav. They have reportedly assured help in upholding the rights provided to the minorities by the Constitution. Meetings with other Opposition leaders, including M.K. Stalin, Lalu Prasad and Mamata Banerjee, are also on the anvil.
“The members discussed about the Law Commission’s decision to seek opinion from all stakeholders on the Uniform Civil Code. It was recalled that the Commission had maintained merely five years ago that a Uniform Civil Code is neither desirable nor practical for next ten years. Now what has brought about a change?” asked Mr. Ilyas.
The members were agitated at the timing of the Prime Minister’s pitch for the UCC. “The call is being made with an eye to the next general election. It is nothing but a polarising tactic. Rather than the Muslims being misled by political parties, as the Prime Minister claimed, it is the government which is misleading the majority community that it is only the Muslims who enjoy personal rights. That is why the Prime Minister sought to link the Uniform Civil Code with instant triple talaq in his address in Bhopal. The Prime Minister’s call is ridiculous and misleading,” Mr. Ilyas said, adding, “The Law Commission’s one month time for submitting resolutions is too short a period as well for something as fundamental as civil laws of a community.”
“The Prime Minister’s Bhopal statement is not just against facts on the ground but also an attempt to link Uniform Civil Code only with the Muslim community. It is an attempt to give a sectarian colour to what is essentially a matter of law. The Code concerns all Indians. It is wrong to present it as a problem of Muslims only. The Prime Minister should have refrained from such a statement. He represents all Indians, but his statement is not acceptable,” Mr. Ilyas said.
The meeting, attended by 35 members, including Khalid Saifullah Rehmani, president, AIMPLB and Arshad Madani, president, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, was convened as there are apprehensions within the minorities that the government wants to push through the Uniform Civil Code before the general election.
