The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has claimed that the idea of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was unconstitutional and against the minorities. It further added that UCC was unacceptable to Muslims.
In the press note, AIMPLB’s General Secretary Hazrat Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani said that the Constitution of India has allowed the citizens to live according to their religion as a part of fundamental rights. “Under the same right, separate personnel laws have been granted for minorities and tribal classes according to their customs, beliefs and traditions, which does not interfere with the constitution in any way,” he said.
He added that the personal law board helps in maintaining mutual trust between minority and majority communities. Blaming the state governments and central government for using UCC to divert attention from the “real issues”, he claimed, “The adoption of the Uniform Civil Code by the Uttarakhand or Uttar Pradesh government or the central government is just a timeless rhetoric, and everyone knows that their purpose is not to address issues such as rising inflation, falling economy and rising unemployment.”
He said that the idea of UCC would not be acceptable to Muslims. “The Uniform civil code issue has been brought up to divert attention from real issues and promote an agenda of hatred and discrimination. This anti-constitutional move is not acceptable to Muslims at all,” he added. Rahmani further condemned the talks on UCC and urged the government to refrain from any such plans.
The statement by AIMPLB came at the time when the Uttarakhand government under Bharatiya Janata Party had already constituted a committee to prepare a draft on UCC in the state. Apart from Uttarakhand, the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh has also hinted that the state was seriously considering the implementation of UCC. Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had said the state was considering UCC.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during a party leaders meeting in Bhopal, mentioned UCC in his statement. He said CAA, Ram Mandir, Article 370 and Triple Talaq have already been resolved. Now the government would focus on the Common Civil Code.
