Strongly criticising the tabling of the Uniform Civil Code bill in Uttarakhand, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednsday termed the proposed law nothing but a "Hindu Code' applicable to all the communities.
While commenting on the issue, Owaisi underlined that the bill gave exemptions to the Hindus and tribals and also reportedly forced Muslims to follow a different religion and culture, which is a violation of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.
The BJP in its 2022 manifesto for Uttarakhand polls, had promised the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code.
The concept of implementing the Uniform Civil Code is to replace the religious personal laws that govern marriages, relationships, inheritance etc and establish a standard uniform system for everyone.
What all did Owaisi say?
Taking it to the microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter), Owaisi wrote, "The Uttarakhand UCC Bill is nothing but a Hindu Code applicable for all. Firstly, Hindu undivided family has not been touched. Why? If you want a uniform law for succession and inheritance, why are Hindus kept out of it? Can a law be uniform if it doesn’t apply to the majority of your state?" he wrote on X.
He said there has been chatter about bigamy, halala, live-in relationships rules in the UCC but no one is talking about the fact that the Hindu Undivided Family has been excluded.
Owaisi said it can't be called uniform if the tribals are excluded from the code.
"There are other constitutional and legal issues. Why have tribals been excluded? Can it be uniform if one community is exempt," he said.
The AIMIM leader said the code forces the Muslims to follow the culture of other religions.
"Next, there is the question of fundamental rights. I have a right to practice my religion and culture, this Bill forces me to follow a different religion and culture. In our religion, inheritance and marriage are part of religious practice, it is a violation of Articles 25 & 29 to force us to follow a different system," he said.
Owaisi said the bill can only be enacted by the Parliament as it contradicts the Shariah Act, Hindu Marriage Act, SMA, ISA.
" A voluntary UCC already exists in the form of SMA, ISA, JJA, DVA, etc. Why make it mandatory when Ambedkar himself didn’t call it mandatory?"
Muslim law board opposes the code
Strongly criticising the move by the Centre, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board opposed the Uniform Civil Code.
Accoding to Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali, the executive committee member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, "Basically, there is no use of such a kind of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) when you are yourself saying that certain communities will be exempted from the Act. Then where is the uniformity? UCC means that the same laws should be implemented on each and every citizen of the state."
"Since we all know that we still have Article 25 of the Constitution (the freedom of conscience and the freedom to profess, practice and propagate religion), each and every citizen has full constitutional right to follow his/her religion in day-to-day life. So, why are you interfering in religious matters? Because personal laws are the religious matters of each and every community," he further added.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind said Muslims won't be able to compromise on Shariah.
"We cannot accept any law that is against Shariah because a Muslim can compromise with everything, but he or she can never compromise on Shariah and religion," said the body.
