Examiner Bureau | Srinagar:
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC) should be brought before Parliament if the BJP-led government has the numbers to pass it, arguing that legislation of national importance cannot be decided separately by individual states.
Talking to reporters in Srinagar, Abdullah questioned the Centre’s approach of pursuing the UCC through different states instead of introducing a common legislation in Parliament.
“If you have the numbers, bring it to Parliament. Why are you doing this through different states?” he said.
The Chief Minister also pointed to differences within the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), saying that if some of its own allies were unwilling to support the proposal, it would be difficult to justify its implementation across the country.
“If their own people are not ready for this, how can they say that it should be implemented in the whole country?” Abdullah said.
He further argued that implementing the UCC only in BJP-ruled states would not make it a genuinely uniform law, as several states and Union Territories are governed by parties other than the BJP.
“The whole country is not a BJP-ruled state. There are a number of states and territories that the BJP does not rule. Therefore, if you apply it only to BJP states, it’s not universal,” he said.
Abdullah maintained that an issue of such national significance should be decided by Parliament, which represents the country as a whole.
“Something that is of this nature should not be decided by individual states. It has to be decided by the country as a whole,” he said.
Reacting to reports of a reduction in Indian and Chinese troop deployments along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Abdullah described the development as significant and expressed hope that the situation along the Line of Control (LoC) would also improve.
“It is a significant development of the government. Similarly, we hope over time that along the Line of Control also, things will get better,” he said.
On comments and assessments by foreign countries regarding India’s foreign policy, Abdullah said New Delhi should neither seek approval from other countries nor attach excessive importance to their praise or criticism.
“Our foreign policy is our own. Why do we look for other countries’ certificates?” he asked.
He said India should maintain a consistent approach regardless of whether foreign governments support or criticise its policies.
“We can’t cherry-pick. If there is opposition in the future, we will say, don’t interfere in our policy. When they praise us, we say, it’s a very good thing,” Abdullah said.
“Neither do we want to hear their praises, nor their opposition. Our foreign policy is our own. We should focus on that,” he added.
