Take a decision on women reservation before UCC: Pawar
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will not take a clear stand on the Uniform Civil Code until the Law Commission decides on the 900 suggestions it has received. NCP President Sharad Pawar also stated that the government should first introduce reservation for women in parliament and state assemblies. The next meeting of opposition leaders has been moved from Shimla to Bengaluru due to weather conditions. Pawar criticized the government for not taking adequate steps to control violence in Manipur and claimed that the BJP has not made any meaningful political inroads in opposition-ruled states. Pawar also stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi grew restless after learning of the opposition parties' meeting.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will not make its stand clear on Uniform Civil Code (UCC) unless Law Commission decides on the 900 suggestions it has received on the issue , party chief Sharad Pawar said in Pune on Thursday.
The NCP president also made it clear that the union government should first introduce reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies before talking about the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code.
“After Centre asked Law Commission to consider the issue of Uniform Civil Court, it has received around 900 suggestions. We do not know what these suggestions are. Unless the commission studies these suggestions and accordingly makes recommendation to Centre, NCP will not make its stand clear,’ said Pawar.
According to NCP chief, there has been different opinions among some communities in India. “I heard that Sikhs have a different take on the issue. Till we find out what the communities like Sikhs, Christians and Jains think, it won’t be appropriate for us to make our stand clear. But before that, reservation should be given to women in assemblies and the Lok Sabha, which is a long-pending demand,” he added.
Pawar also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had become restless after the Opposition parties’ meeting in Patna.
Next Oppn meet
The next meeting of Opposition leaders has been shifted from Shimla to Bengaluru owing to the prevailing weather conditions in Himachal Pradesh, NCP chief Sharad Pawar informed on Thursday.
According to NCP chief, the next meeting of the opposition parties will take place at Bengaluru on July 13-14.
“At this meeting, the future plan of action on how to go forward in the upcoming (Lok Sabha) election would be discussed. The discussion will also be centred on how power is misused to stoke communal tension in states,” Pawar said.
Pawar said despite violence in Manipur, Centre is not taking adequate steps. Manipur “is burning”, but the Modi government is not taking any steps to bring the situation under control, the NCP chief said.
“Looking at the current situation in various parts of country and the opinion that people have about this government, there is scope for believe that Centre is trying to divert attention by speaking about Uniform Civil Court,” Pawar said.
The NCP chief claimed further that in Opposition-ruled states, especially Left-ruled Kerala and Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh, the BJP has failed to make any meaningful political inroads and had not received any support from the people.
“The BJP is not in power in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and West Bengal,” he said in support of his argument.
Pawar claimed further that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on his maiden State visit to the United States when the first Opposition meeting took place, grew restless after learning of it.
His remark came in response to PM Modi’s claim on Tuesday in Bhopal that the Opposition leaders are unsettled as they have come to realise that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was on course to win the 2024 general elections.
