Union Minister of State for Minority affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Wednesday said “consultation and consensus” were required for the government to take a call on the issue of common civil code.
He added that the government hadn’t yet come to a view on the matter after the Supreme Court asked it to file a response on the issue.
“In a democracy, one should not do anything without consultation and consensus. The government hasn’t yet sat down and firmed up a view on what the Supreme Court has said,” Mr. Naqvi told The Hindu in response to a question whether the government should move towards a common civil code or first consult the Muslim community itself.
When contacted, Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptullah refused to answer questions on a “sensitive issue.”
This comes a day after Union Law Minister Sadanand Gowda said that common civil code was “the need of the hour” and that “it would have a positive impact on national integrity,” but with the rider that the shift could happen only after consultations with stakeholders.
Mr. Gowda told The Hindu a day ago: “My answer is the same as it was in April on the floor of the House. Yes, the UCC will certainly have some positive impact on national integrity, but in this country, for the last several years, having several kinds of personal and customary laws, it is not a matter to be settled in two days. Article 44 says that there should be UCC, but it is a sensitive issue and needs wider consultation across community and party lines.”
The BJP has had a long-held position that there should be a common civil code in the country. This was one of the party’s three key ideological issues, the other two being the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya and repeal of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
“This has been one of our core issues,” said party secretary Shrikant Sharma.
