UCC will destabilize India, demolish diversity and create chaos in society: Moily warns Modi

News Network
July 5, 2023

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New Delhi, July 5: Amid the raging debate over the Uniform Civil Code, senior Congress leader and former law minister M Veerappa Moily on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Law Commission and all political leaders not to open the "Pandora's box" on personal laws and "create chaos" in the society.

He also alleged that it was an issue that was intended to divide the society, destabilise the country and demolish the diversity enjoyed in Indian society.

In a statement, Moily underlined that Article 25 provides for the Right to Freedom of Religion.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently given a public thrust to Uniform Civil Code (UCC). Even though the Constitution of India makes a mention of the UCC, the founding fathers of the Constitution in the Constituent Assembly had chosen not to make it mandatory, as it involves the diversity of Indian society," said Moily, who was the law minister in the UPA-II government from May 2009 to May 2011.

Uniformity or commonality of the civil code for all regions and cultures of India is a different matter, he argued. 

"It would entail breaking the promise made to Nagas and Mizos to not interfere in their customs and could feed secessionist sentiments that are active to varying degrees in the region," Moily said.

He added that this will have repercussions not only for minorities such as Muslims, Christians, it will also have substantial effect on Sikhs, Jains, Buddhist and hundreds of tribes and among various sects in Hindus such as Aliyasantana in Dakshina Kannada in Karnataka and Marumakkathayam in Kerala.

"As expected, UCC is envisaged as a Muslim issue, forgetting other diversities prevailing in the country," he alleged.

Moily noted that the 21st Law Commission of India had declared that the UCC is neither necessary nor desirable.

He said that the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court had already framed seven questions of law linked to religious freedom, rights and practices in the Sabarimala case. 

The first of the seven questions is what is the scope and ambit of Right to Freedom of Religion under Article 25 of the Constitution, he pointed out and noted that the said reference is still pending in the Supreme Court.

The 22nd Law Commission of India has rushed to issue a public notice for a fresh debate on the Uniform Civil Code, he said.

"The statement of the prime minister at the most may be a platitude in the meeting of the BJP party and may be a part of the BJP manifesto for the forthcoming Lok Sabha election of 2024," Moily said.

Neither any state nor the next Parliament can rush to the UCC legislation in the absence of a full-fledged report of the 22nd Law Commission or the judgment of the Supreme Court which had framed seven questions of law, he asserted.

The right to preserve one's religious identities through personal laws cannot be annulled by a premature proclamation of the prime minister, the senior Congress leader said.

He said that it should not be forgotten that the report of the 21st Law Commission of India will have to be debated and the Supreme Court should also come out with its verdict. 

"All the debates which are taking place now are premature, short-sighted and tend to create hatred in the society. Such debates are also intended to sabotage the concept of secularism which has always been upheld by the founding fathers of the Constitution," Moily said.

"I appeal to the prime minister of India, the Law Commission and all the political leaders not to open up the Pandora's box on personal laws and create chaos in the society which is intended to divide the society and destabilise the country and to demolish the diversity enjoyed in the Indian society," he said.

UCC refers to a common set of laws that are applicable to all the citizens of India that is not based on religion and dealing with marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption among other matters.

The Law Commission had on June 14 initiated a fresh consultation process on UCC by seeking views from stakeholders, including public and recognised religious organisations, on the politically sensitive issue.

Addressing a gathering of party workers in Bhopal last week, Prime Minister Modi had made a strong pitch for the UCC, saying that the Constitution calls for equal rights for all citizens.

Modi had also said the opposition is using the issue of UCC to mislead and provoke the Muslim community.

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News Network
October 21,2024

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Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on Monday warned passengers not to fly on Air India flights from November 1 to 19. He asserted that an attack could take place on an Air India flight during the specified dates, which coincide with the "40th anniversary of the Sikh genocide".

The founder of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), who holds dual citizenship in Canada and the US, had issued a similar threat around the same time last year.

Pannun's fresh threat comes amid several airlines in India receiving multiple threat calls about potential bombings, all of which turned out to be hoaxes. It also occurred at a time when India and Canada are engaged in a murky diplomatic row following Canada's allegations of India targeting Khalistani elements in the country, including the murder of another terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

In November 2023, Pannun released a video claiming that Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport would be renamed and would remain closed on November 19, warning people against flying on Air India that day. The National Investigation Agency charged him with criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, and various offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

In December last year, Pannun threatened to attack the Parliament on or before December 13, following reports of an alleged foiled plot to kill him. December 13 marks the anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Parliament in 2001.

He also threatened to kill Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Director General of State Police Gaurav Yadav on Republic Day this year. He also urged gangsters to unite and launch an attack on Mann on January 26.

Pannun has been designated a terrorist by the Ministry of Home Affairs since July 2020 on charges of sedition and secessionism, as he leads SFJ, a group advocating for a separate sovereign Sikh state. A year prior to this, India banned SFJ as an "unlawful association" for engaging in "anti-national and subversive" activities.

In another development, on October 17, the United States charged a former officer of India's spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder Pannun, a charge New Delhi has rejected as baseless allegations.

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News Network
October 25,2024

Udupi, Oct 25: A team of police from Udupi apprehended a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) at Kannur International Airport, Kerala, after he had been absconding overseas since 2019. 

Ashmath Ali (35) originally arrested on charges of recording a video of unnatural acts, had been out on bail granted by the second ACJ and JMFC court of Udupi on September 6, 2019.

Despite 18 arrest warrants issued in his name, Ali managed to evade authorities for years, frequently traveling abroad. 

Acting on a tip-off, sleuths from Kaup police station intercepted him as he landed at Kannur International Airport on October 21, marking the end of his prolonged evasion from Indian law enforcement. 

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News Network
October 26,2024

Bengaluru: Amid protests by farmers in Vijayapura who have been served notices by the Karnataka Board of Waqfs to vacate the land their ancestors had allegedly encroached, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Saturday said the state government will review the situation. 

Speaking to reporters here, he said, "We will review it. The state government and the revenue department will review it. A decision will be taken based on old records." When asked that the Waqf Board had set a deadline to vacate the land, the minister said that is not a problem.

Meanwhile, in the district headquarter town of Vijayapura in North Karnataka bordering Maharashtra, the farmers staged a demonstration at the Deputy Commissioner’s office.

Holding the land records and registered land deeds, the farmers alleged that they were served notice soon after Housing and Waqf Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan visited Vijayapura and directed the Deputy Commissioner to serve notices to the farmers who were sitting on Waqf land.

Farmer leaders alleged that without bringing the matter to their notice, the land records of farmers in Tenahalli village in Indi Taluk and Honvada village in Tikota Taluk were changed and made in favour of Waqf.

Bengaluru South BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Friday said the Karnataka State Board of Waqfs has claimed its ownership over 1,500 acres of ancestral land of farmers in Honvada village.

Surya, who is also Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha president, said the farmers of Honvada village in Tikota Taluk were served notices declaring their lands as Waqf property "with no evidence or explanation provided".

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