Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said the Union government is creating “unnecessary controversy” on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) ahead of the Lok Sabha election while assuring a Muslim delegation that his administration will not allow “suppression” of minority rights.
An All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) delegation met Siddaramaiah along with Congress’ Muslim leaders K Rahman Khan, B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, Saleem Ahmed, Naseer Ahmed, Rizwan Arshad and others.
According to a statement from the chief minister’s office, the delegation expressed concern over “threat” to Muslim rights and personal law due to the implementation of the UCC.
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“The previous Law Commission had rejected the central government’s proposal saying that implementation of UCC was not feasible in this diverse country. Now, the central government has asked the present Law Commission to review the matter again. Accordingly, the Law Commission is collecting opinions from the public,” the statement said quoting the delegation. More than one crore people have signed a petition against UCC that has been sent to the Law Commission, the statement pointed out.
Siddaramaiah told the delegation that his government would respond after the publication of the draft UCC. “Our government will never allow suppression of minority rights,” the CM said. “The central government is creating unnecessary controversy in the wake of the (Lok Sabha) election,” he said.
Siddaramaiah also assured the delegation that there is “no need to worry” about the protection of minority rights.
The delegation also requested the government to protect Waqf properties and clear encroachments.