PM Modi’s ‘communal civil code’ remark an insult to Ambedkar, says Congress

In his Independence Day speech, the prime minister said that the ‘civil code that we are living with is actually a communal civil code’.

Aug 16, 2024 - 15:30
PM Modi’s ‘communal civil code’ remark an insult to Ambedkar, says Congress

The Congress on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark during his Independence Day speech that Indians are living with a “communal civil code” was a “gross insult” to BR Ambedkar.

In his speech at Delhi’s Red Fort, Modi called for discussions on implementing a Uniform Civil Code in the country, saying that it needed to be “secular” and not “discriminatory”.

The Uniform Civil Code is a proposed common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, succession and adoption for all citizens. Currently, such personal affairs of different religious and tribal groups – except in Uttarakhand and Goa – are based on community-specific laws, largely derived from religious scripture.

Referring to the Uniform Civil Code in his speech, Modi said: “A large section of the country believes, and it is true, that the civil code that we are living with is actually a communal civil code.”

The prime minister added that the “need of the hour” was to implement a “secular civil code” in the country. “Only then would we be free of the discrimination on the basis of religion.”

In response to Modi’s remarks, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said that the claim that the country was living with a communal civil code till now was “a gross insult to Dr....

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