Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday challenged the BJP to bring a Uniform Civil Code bill before Parliament. He said, "If the BJP has the courage, it should introduce the legislation in Parliament." Abdullah argued that pushing separate state laws is undemocratic and lacks true national uniformity.
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Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday challenged the BJP to bring a Uniform Civil Code bill before Parliament instead of rolling it out through states, saying a law cannot be called 'uniform' when it applies selectively. His remarks come as the Centre pushes UCC implementation across NDA-ruled states before the 2029 Lok Sabha election, despite resistance from allies.
CM Abdullah said Jammu and Kashmir would not implement the UCC and questioned the BJP's decision to pursue separate laws in states where it holds power.
"These matters cannot be settled by individual states acting in isolation," CM Abdullah said. "If the BJP has the courage, it should introduce the legislation in Parliament, allow a full debate, and then test whether it can secure passage. They will not do so because they lack the numbers. Pushing it state by state is undemocratic. In a true democracy, a debate of this magnitude belongs at the Centre.
His comments come less than a month after Union Home Minister Amit Shah said UCC would be introduced in all 21 NDA-ruled states before the 2029 Lok Sabha election. Uttarakhand has had its code in force since January 2025. Gujarat and Assam have since received presidential assent for their UCC laws.
The Constitution places marriage, divorce, adoption, wills and succession in the Concurrent List, which allows both Parliament and state legislatures to make laws on those subjects. Abdullah's objection is therefore political and procedural: he wants a single national proposal debated in Parliament instead of separate state laws.
CM Abdullah also pointed to resistance within the NDA. The JD(U) has said it does not support implementing the UCC in Bihar, even though it is an NDA ally. Senior JD(U) leader Shyam Rajak said in September that the party's position against a Bihar rollout had already been made clear.
"A Uniform Civil Code is not truly uniform until it is implemented everywhere. It will never be implemented here (Jammu and Kashmir)," CM Abdullah said.
Chief Minister Abdullah also spoke about the detention and proposed deportation of people identified as illegal immigrants in Jammu and Kashmir. He said people who entered India illegally from Bangladesh were in a different legal category and could not stay without permission.
On Rohingyas, Abdullah questioned the sudden action against families who had earlier been allowed temporary refuge after fleeing Myanmar.
"We gave them refuge here, a little space, and allowed them to stay here until conditions in their country improved. Now, suddenly taking action against them seems a bit strange to me," he said.
150 alleged Bangladeshi nationals were flown from Jammu and Kashmir to West Bengal for deportation after a survey in which 500 people were detained. CM Abdullah said decisions on such action rested with the Centre and noted that the police involved were not under his government's control.
CM Abdullah also backed the INDIA bloc's campaign over alleged voter-list deletions. He said opposition leaders had drawn up a programme for October and that the campaign would continue after MPs marched towards the Election Commission.
He welcomed the Supreme Court seeking responses from the Centre and Election Commission over allegations concerning voter deletions and the functioning of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. "The good thing is that questions are being raised in the Supreme Court as well, especially the deletion of names from voter lists," CMAbdullah said.
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