LUCKNOW: Reacting to the Supreme Court’s observation in favour of a Uniform Civil Code in the country, Mohsin Raza, Yogi Adityanath’s lone Muslim minister, who holds the portfolio of minority welfare, Muslim Waqf and Haj, believes it is imperative that everyone in the country should be bounded by a single civil law irrespective of religion, caste and creed.
“Whatever is necessary for the welfare of the people of the country, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has the will and the courage to implement it,” says Raza citing the example of the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir.
On the need for a Uniform Civil Code seen in the perspective of the apex court's observation, Raza says, “Others see politics in it. For us, the welfare of the nation and its people comes first. It has been the resolve of our party and we take decisions keeping the welfare of both the nation and its people supreme instead of politics.”
While talking exclusively to TNIE, the minister adds, “We believe that everyone should be treated equally irrespective of one’s religion, faith, caste or creed. We firmly believe that all Indians should have equal rights but equal laws as well.”
Replying to the reservations of Muslims over the provision, Raza says many communities, especially Muslims, feel that if a uniform civil code is brought, it will amount to an infringement of their religious rights. “But if such a law is framed, there will never be any breach of anyone’s religious faith.
Everyone will continue to practise his or her own religious belief. But the civil code will be there for everyone and it will help in unifying the country further,” he feels.
To substantiate his claim, Raza asks his Muslim brethren to tell him if there has been any infringement of their religious rights during the last five years of BJP rule in the country.
“It should not be given a politico-religious colour the way it happened in 1985 in the Shah Bano case. Had the then Rajiv Gandhi government not reversed the Supreme Court order succumbing to the pressure of Muslim outfits owing to vote bank politics, there wouldn’t have been the need to bring the triple talaq bill
now,” reasons the minister.