Lucknow: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) will oppose the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC) law, which seeks to formulate and implement a set of common personal laws for all the citizens of India regardless of their religion, caste, and creed, as per the religious body's member Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali.
A decision to this effect was taken in an emergency online meeting late on Tuesday evening hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came out with his strong advocacy for the nationwide implementation of the law.
During the online meeting -- attended by AIMPLB president Saifullah Rehmani, Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali, chairman of Islamic Centre of India and member of AIMPLB, AIMPLB lawyers and others -- the Muslim body agreed on presenting its views more powerfully in front of the Law Commission.
AIMPLB has sought an appointment with the Law Commission to present its case. To this end, the documents to be submitted to the Law Commission were also finalised at the meeting. The Commission also had recently made its opinion public that uniform civil code is an imperative and falls in line with the constitution.
The views put forward by Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday were in sync with the affidavit filed by the Union ministry of law in the Supreme Court a few months ago.
The Centre's affidavit said that “citizens belonging to different religions and denominations following different property and matrimonial laws is an affront to the nation’s unity”.
In September last year, a private member's Bill that seeks to provide for a panel to prepare a Uniform Civil Code was introduced in Rajya Sabha in the face of great resistance from opposition parties. In the past, although similar bills were listed for introduction, they were not moved in the Upper House.
PM Modi's comments on Uniform Civil Code yesterday revived focus on the long-debated subject and also sparked strong reactions from Opposition parties.
"You tell me, in a home, how can there be one law for one member and another law for another member? Will that home be able to function? Then how will the country be able to function with such a dual system? We have to remember that even in the Constitution, there is a mention of equal rights for all," the Prime Minister said.
"These people (opposition) level allegations against us but the reality is that they chant Musalman, Musalman. Had they really been (working) in the interests of Muslims, then Muslim families would not have been lagging in education and jobs," he added.
The Opposition accused the BJP of trying to crush the country's pluralism and diversity and diverting focus from existing worries like poverty, unemployment and price rise.
Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali said, “AIMPLB will oppose the Uniform Civil Code tooth and nail. We are chalking out a strategy to counter the proposed move of the government by presenting our view in front of the law commission more powerfully. All prominent Muslim leaders of the country were present in the online meeting held on Tuesday.”
He added, “For the past several years, politicians have been raising the issue of the UCC just before the elections. This time too, the issue has come up before 2024 elections. I have always said that the UCC is not only going to affect the Muslims but also the Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Jews, Parsis and other miniscule minorities living in the country. India is a country where language changes at every 100 km. So, how can we have the same set of rules for all communities?