Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday challenged the Centre to table a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill in Parliament rather than implementing it piecemeal, arguing that a civil code cannot be termed universal if it applies only to BJP-ruled states.
The JD(U) has made it clear it won’t be implemented in Bihar. Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Abdullah echoed the position of National Conference (NC) Rajya Sabha member Shammi Oberoi, maintaining that civil legislation falls strictly within the domain of Parliament. “If you have the numbers, bring the Bill to Parliament. Why push it through individual states? “Not everyone in the NDA agrees. If their own allies aren’t on board, how can they claim it will cover the entire country? They should table it in Parliament and test whether they actually have the numbers to pass it. “The whole country is not governed by the BJP. Applying it only to BJP-ruled states means it isn’t universal. Decisions of this nature must be made for the nation as a whole, and the entire nation is represented in Parliament, not individual state assemblies. So far, promised key legislations haven’t been brought to the floor.
Abdullah said. He said that a nationwide code cannot be decided on a state-by-state basis. Bring UCC to Parliament and let us see if it passes,” he said.
Addressing foreign policy, the chief minister urged against relying on external validation. “Our foreign policy is our own. He nevertheless noted the diplomatic significance of the BRICS New Delhi Declaration naming and condemning the Pahalgam terror attack.
Reacting to home minister Amit Shah’s assertion that UCC will be rolled out across 21 NDA-governed states by 2029, Abdullah highlighted opposition within the ruling coalition itself, referring to reports that Janata Dal (United) will not permit its implementation in Bihar. Because we cannot cherry-pick, we shouldn’t attach too much weight to what other countries say, whether positive or negative,.
“Given how many key international partners of Pakistan were in that room, getting Pahalgam mentioned by name in the joint declaration is a clear success for Indian diplomacy,” the CM said. If we celebrate praise today, we lose the standing to tell them not to interfere if they criticise us tomorrow.
