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, asserting that legislation of national importance cannot be decided by individual states.
Talking to reporters in Srinagar, Omar, as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), questioned why the government is pursuing the issue through different states instead of bringing it before Parliament. “If you have the numbers, bring it to Parliament. Why are you doing this through different states?” he said.
He also pointed to differences within the BJP-led NDA, saying that if its own allies were not ready to support the move, it would be difficult to argue that the UCC should be implemented 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?” he said.
He said implementing the UCC only in BJP-ruled states would not make it a uniform law, as several states and Union Territories are not governed by 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,” Omar said.
He said legislation of such a nature 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.
On the reported reduction in Indian and Chinese troop deployments along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Omar termed it a significant development 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 by foreign countries on India’s foreign policy, the Chief Minister said India should neither seek approval nor attach excessive importance to praise or criticism from other countries. “Our foreign policy is our own. Why do we look for other countries’ certificates?” he said.
“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,” Omar 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.—(KNO)
