Omar rules out Uniform Civil Code in J&K

Srinagar, Oct 6: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday reiterated that the Jammu and Kashmir government would not implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), asserting that any such legislation should be debated and passed in Parliament rather than introduced state by state.
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Omar, said J&K would not adopt the UCC and challenged the Centre to bring the legislation before Parliament.
“We will not implement the UCC here,” he said, adding that several other governments had also expressed reservations over its implementation.
Calling for a national debate on the issue, Omar said, “If you have the courage, bring the law to Parliament and debate it there.”
He alleged that the BJP was pursuing implementation of the UCC through states because it lacked the numbers to secure its passage in Parliament.
“Instead of a national debate, they are implementing it state by state, which is wrong,” he said.
On the INDIA bloc’s campaign against alleged voter-list deletions, Omar said the issue would continue to be raised through programmes planned during the month.
He said the alliance had already organised a march to the Election Commission and would persist with its campaign.
“We have been raising this issue repeatedly. Now the media and the Supreme Court are also raising questions, particularly about deletions from voter lists,” he said.
Omar said concerns remained over the basis on which names were removed from electoral rolls and noted that the Supreme Court had sought responses from the Election Commission and the Government of India.
“We will wait to see what corrective steps follow and what the court decides,” he said.
Commenting on the action against Rohingyas in Jammu and Kashmir, Omar said illegal Bangladeshi migrants could not be allowed to stay in India, but the Rohingya issue was different as they had been allowed to stay after being displaced from their country.
Describing the timing of the action as “strange”, he said the matter was beyond the jurisdiction of the J&K government and rested with the Government of India.
“The police are not under our control. It is better to ask those who command the police,” he said.
On connectivity, Omar said the Cabinet had decided to allot land to BSNL in areas without mobile coverage to facilitate installation of towers.
He also said utility ducts would be laid along roads to prevent repeated excavation by agencies laying water, power and telecom infrastructure.
“The purpose is to avoid repeated digging and protect road infrastructure,” he said. (KNO)