'Isn't PM prejudging response of Law Commission?': Khurshid on Modi's UCC remarks

Senior Congress leader and former law minister Salman Khurshid on Wednesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks on uniform civil code, wondering if the PM is prejudging what the response of the Law Commission would be on the matter.

Khurshid also asked whether a person in the position of prime minister should be showing his inclination on the issue as it would "distort" an objective opinion that the commission was to get on the matter.

Neither the BJP, the prime minister nor the Law Commission have indicated why there needs to be a departure from the findings of the previous law commission, he said.

"This is a commitment of the prime minister and his party and there is no problem with the PM taking up an issue like this but the problem is that when the Law Commission is asking for a response, isn't the PM prejudging what the response of the Law Commission will be after it gets feedback from the rest of the country," the Congress leader told PTI.

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"So, a person in the position of the PM, should he be showing his inclination, which will distort objective opinion that the Law Commission is to get," he said.

Khurshid said nothing has been indicated as to why there is a need to have a re-look after the findings of the previous law commission.

Earlier, the 21st Law Commission, the term of which ended in August 2018, had examined the issue and solicited the views of all stakeholders on two occasions. Subsequently, a consultation paper on "Reforms of Family Law" was issued in 2018. The 22nd Law Commission, which recently got a three-year extension, has now restarted the process and has sought views from stakeholders till July 13.

"It is like a review of a judgment of the Supreme Court or a high court. When you review a judgment, you give some reasons like 'things have changed, so much has happened that we are taking a fresh look, time has passed, so on and so forth'. Nothing like this has been indicated as to why this needs to be done," Khurshid said.

The present Law Commission had on June 14 invited views from all stakeholders, including people and recognised religious organisations, on the politically sensitive issue.

Addressing a gathering of party workers in Bhopal, Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday made a strong pitch for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), saying the Constitution calls for equal rights for all citizens.

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

Reacting to his remarks, Khrushid said the prime minister has not just simply said this is a good idea and should be supported but he has also brought in Muslims into this saying that they are being provoked and misled.

"Why should Muslims be misled by anyone, first of all? Secondly, Muslims ought not to be feeling that this is anything exclusively to do with them. This is a point of view about what should be the standard applied to the whole country, Muslims can have a view, Christians can have a view, tribals can have a view, many Hindus can have a view, let that view come forward," said Khurshid, who was the minister of law and justice from May 2011–October 2012.

But the trouble is that what the UCC is supposed to do is not clear, he argued.

"Even the law commission has not said that our intention is to look at the UCC in the following dimension so that the response could be informed and intelligent. It is like giving people wild guesses… it is putting the cart before the horse," Khurshid said.

This is like inviting and provoking reactions when all we need is a discussion, the senior Congress leader said.

Read | Muslim body AIMPLB to submit draft proposal on UCC to Law Commission

"Tell us the purpose, tell us how it will be achieved, tell us that there are no adverse consequences to anyone. Put all that down and let the people respond. Then there will be an intelligent and informed response," he argued.

Khurshid also said that if it is an attempt at diverting attention from real issues it was very unfortunate.

"There are many important issues and the most important issue is the performance of this government. If this government is confident of its performance in the country in the last nine years let it be tested on the performance, why look for something which admittedly is something which if not properly understood and produced can cause apprehensions, suspicions and divisive nature of politics," he said.

Opposition parties on Tuesday had attacked Prime Minister Modi for his comments on the UCC with the Congress saying that he was making such remarks only to divert attention from the real issues like unemployment.