The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) convened the meeting to deliberate upon the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and prepare their response to the Law Commission’s public notice seeking feedback on the matter.

The meeting came hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch for a UCC ata rally in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The AIMPLB, however, dismissed any connection to the PM’s remarks and claimed that the meeting was planned well in advance.

Qasim Rasool, an executive committee member of the AIMPLB, clarified, “This meeting had already been scheduled. The PM’s speech just happened to take place on the same day. We will be submitting our feedback to the Law Commission in the first week of July.”

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During the meeting held late evening on Tuesday, AIMPLB members discussed the main points they intend to address in their response to the Law Commission.

Rasool said that the board presented its feedback to the Law Commission in 2016, following which the Commission responded in 2018 that UCC should not be implemented for 10 years.

“What we feel is that the latest public notice is nothing but a political stunt by the present government to create a situation which they will encash ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections. The manner in which the Law Commission has asked for feedback this time has also been ambiguous. In 2016, the Law Commission had asked specific questions, to which we had responded,” he added.

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In his speech on Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi criticised the Opposition for allegedly trying to “instigate” minority communities regarding the UCC.

“Tell me, in one house, there is one law for one family member and another for another family member, can that house function?”

PM Modi further said that the absence of a UCC has adversely affected the Pasmanda (backward) Muslims, a group that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has actively sought to court in recent years.

Responding to the Prime Minister’s PM’s call for ‘one nation, one law’, Rasool said that such a system does not exist in India.

“Even the implementation of the IPC and CRPC differs from state to state. There is no uniform law on cow slaughter in the country. It is implemented in some states, while others – such as the northeastern states, Goa, Bengal etc – don’t even have such a law.”

He added that the UCC is neither necessary nor benefits the country in any way. “India is a multi-religious, multicultural nation which must respect its diversity. The Constitution enshrines religious freedom as a fundamental right and the UCC interferes with this right as Muslim personal law is a part and parcel of our religious freedom.”

Rasool further said that it is not just the Muslim community that will oppose the UCC, but “all other communities including Hindus, Sikhs, Christians etc, who will be impacted by this law”.

“In any case, UCC in a manner already exists in the country in the form of the Special Marriage Act, the Inheritance Act etc – only these are optional,” Rasool added further.