Bring UCC to Parliament if you have numbers: CM

Says national legislation cannot be decided by individual States

Srinagar, Sep 15: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday asked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government to bring the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC) legislation before Parliament if it has the numbers to pass it, questioning the move to pursue the issue through individual states.

Talking to reporters here, Omar said an issue concerning the entire country should not be decided selectively by states and maintained that Parliament is the appropriate forum for legislation of national importance.

He questioned the support for the UCC within the BJP-led NDA, pointing to reported reservations among some allies over its implementation. “If their own people are not ready for this, how can they say that it should be implemented in the whole country?” he said.

The Chief Minister said the government should bring the legislation before Parliament rather than attempting to push it through individual states. “Not through the back door; they should bring this bill to Parliament. And see if they have numbers or not,” he said.

Omar said implementing the UCC only in BJP-ruled states would not make it a universal law, as the party does not govern all states and Union Territories.

“The whole country is not a BJP-ruled state. There are a number of states and territories that the party does not rule. Therefore, if you apply it only to BJP states, it’s not universal,” he said.

The legislation of such a nature, the CM said, should be decided by the country as a whole through Parliament. “Something that is of this nature should not be decided by individual states. It has to be decided by the country as a whole. The country as a whole is represented not in the state but in Parliament,” he said.

LAC troop reduction significant

On the reported reduction in Indian and Chinese troop deployments along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the J&K CM termed it a significant development and expressed hope that the situation along the Line of Control (LoC) would also improve with time. “It is a significant development of the government. Similarly, we hope over time that along the Line of Control also, things will get better,” he said.

‘Our foreign policy is our own’

On comments and assessments by other countries regarding India’s foreign policy, the Chief Minister said India should not seek certificates from foreign governments or attach excessive importance to either praise or criticism. “Our foreign policy is our own. Why do we look for other countries’ certificates?” he said.

He cautioned against selectively welcoming favourable comments from other countries while rejecting criticism, saying India should maintain its own independent approach to foreign policy.

“We can’t cherry-pick. If there is opposition in the future, we will say, don’t interfere in our policy. When they praise us, we say, it’s a very good thing,” Abdullah said. “Neither do we want to hear their praises nor their opposition. Our foreign policy is our own. We should focus on that.”