Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed on the need for a Secular Civil Code saying said laws dividing the country on the basis of religion did not have any place in modern society. He said “I would say that it is the demand of the country that India should have a secular civil code. We have lived 75 years with a communal civil code.”
In his speech from the Red Fort during the 78th Independence Day celebrations, PM Modi while mentioning the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and several orders of the Supreme Court regarding it stressed the need for serious discussion in the country on this subject.
He said, “A large section of the country believes that the civil code with which we are living is really a communal and discriminatory code. I want that there should be a serious discussion on this in the country and everyone should bring their views.”
When the Prime Minister Modi was speaking on the issue of UCC, Chief Justice of India Justice DY Chandrachud also sitting among the special guests, a glimpse of whom went viral on social media.
During this, CJI Chandrachud smiled a bit when the decisions of Supreme Court were mentioned by Modi as cameraman captured this glimpse of him on camera.
Reacting sharply, the opposition accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of peddling a ‘divisive agenda’, with the Congress slamming his ‘communal civil code’ remarks during his Independence Day speech as a gross insult to Baba Saheb Ambedkar.
The Congress alleged that Modi’s capacity for “malice, mischief, and maligning” history was on full display at the Red Fort.
The Congress’s denunciation came in the wake of Modi saying a “secular civil code” was the need of the hour as the existing set of laws was a “communal civil code” and discriminatory.
Lambasting Modi, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “The non-biological PM’s capacity for malice, mischief, and maligning of history knows no bounds. It was on full display today from the Red Fort.”
“To say that we have had a ‘communal civil code’ till now is a gross insult to Dr Ambedkar, who was the greatest champion of reforms in Hindu personal laws that became a reality by the mid-1950s. These reforms had been bitterly opposed by the RSS and the Jan Sangh,” he said in a post on X.
He also cited para 1.15 of the 21st Law Commission’s 182-page Consultation Paper on Reform of Family Law to drive home his point.
“While diversity of Indian culture can and should be celebrated, specific groups or weaker sections of society must not be dis-privileged in the process. Resolution of this conflict does not mean abolition of all differences.”
“This Commission has, therefore, dealt with laws that are discriminatory rather than providing a uniform civil code which is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage,” he quoted the document, released on August 31, 2018, as saying.
“Most countries are moving towards recognition of differences and the mere existence of difference does not imply discrimination, but is indicative of a robust democracy,” the Congress leader quoted the document as saying.
Similarly, Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary D Raja said Modi’s Independence Day speech did not place any issue before the country to unite and inspire people.
Also National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) general secretary and CPI leader Annie Raja also slammed Modi and questioned the idea of “One Nation, One Election”.
“What is ‘One Nation, One Election’? He is boasting about making this country an economic superpower by 2047…. He should have that same confidence to say that this country can have elections at different times,” she said.
“If this country cannot generate resources for an election, what are we talking about 2047? I do not know what is his intention behind ‘One Nation, One Election’…. The first agenda should be to ensure free-and-fair elections,” Annie Raja said.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Manoj Jha said Modi is yet to realize that there is only one prime minister in the country and those who voted for the opposition do not have a separate prime minister.
“The most important and concerning point is that even for the 11th time, Narendra Modi has failed to understand that he is country’s prime minister. The opposition or the people who did not vote for you do not have a separate prime minister,” he said.
“Every time we expected him to have a big heart, we have been disappointed. Even a polite conversation can seem awkward if it is held impolitely. Whether the statement on Viksit Bharat, saying that some people want destruction, this is a political speech,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.
“Today, he talked about a secular civil code. Secularism is a process, it has to be imbibed. Every time we expect that the prime minister will give up a narrow mindset and have a broad-minded approach, he disappoints,” Jha added.
