The Congress on Friday expressed its disapproval of provoking “unpleasant divisions” by reopening sensitive issues, shortly after a Union Minister called for an “open debate” on Article 370 and a Uniform Civil Code, two of three contentious issues on the BJP’s agenda.
Stressing that the Uniform Civil Code is a “sensitive issue” as many communities — Muslims, Sikhs, Christians — have personal laws, party spokesperson Shashi Tharoor said that while issues do get debated, it did “not imply a licence to reopen everything that can tear the nation.”
Mr. Tharoor’s remarks came in the wake of Minister for Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh’s call in Dehradun for an open debate on Article 370 and the Uniform Civil Code.
“There is no harm in having an open debate on issues like Article 370 and a common civil code,” Mr Singh said, responding to a question. “Why should we shy away from weighing their pros and cons?”
Evidently, in BJP circles, this time, there is no hesitating in flagging these controversial issues, unlike during the BJP-led NDA government’s last tenure. For, Mr. Radha Mohan Singh’s remarks come on the heels of MoS in the PMO Jitendra Singh asking for a discussion on the need to abrogate Article 370 that gives J&K special status — comments that caused a backlash from parties in the Valley.
The Congress spokesperson said the BJP needed to ask itself whether it should “be provoking unpleasant divisions and bitterness in society just after the elections by re-opening such sensitive issues,” adding whether the next step would be to ask all communities to accept laws of one community.
