Civil code move is aimed at polarisation: AIMPLB
The All India Muslim
Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) will be convening a meeting, soon after the
festival of Eid next week, to formulate a response to the Law Ministry’s move
to ask the Law Commission to look into the issue of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
AIMPLB member
Kamal Faruqui told The Hindu that while the Board will be deposing before the
Law Commission on the matter, he was convinced that the upcoming Uttar Pradesh
Assembly polls had sparked off the current move on one of the core ideological
issues of the BJP.
Dividing voters
“The BJP is
trying to make it seem as though there is a strong case of gender justice
behind this move, but that is not so. The move is clearly aimed at the Uttar
Pradesh elections, to polarise voters on communal lines,” he said.
“Despite the
Muslim Personal Law, those wanting to avail the protections of the civil laws
governing marriage can do so under the Special Marriages Act and also have the
protection of other laws pertaining to protection of women like section 498A
that protects women against demands for dowry, torture etc,” he said.
“Now to cite a
Supreme Court comment on UCC, made eight months ago, to debate the issue is
suspect. The government behaved more than circumspectly when it came to the
practice of Santhara (voluntary death through fasting followed by the Jain
community) when the Rajasthan High Court termed it suicide. There is a double
standard in dealing with matters of faith by this government,” he said.
The Supreme
Court is still hearing the case on Santhara, after it stayed the Rajasthan high
court order deeming the practice as suicide.
Union Law
Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda and Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
refused to comment on Mr. Faruqui’s charges.
“We have written
to the Law Commission to examine all aspects of the matter, and that is all I
am prepared to say this point,” Mr Gowda told The Hindu from Bengaluru.
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