BJP has been neither secular nor civil: Sibal on PM's remarks on UCC

New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strong pitch for a "secular civil code", Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Friday alleged that the BJP has been neither secular nor civil in the last 10 years.

A "secular and civil country is the need of the hour", the Independent Rajya Sabha MP and former Union minister said in a post on X.

PM :
“Need of the hour…a Secular Civil Code in this country…spent 75 years under the Communal Civil Code”

My take :

Need of the hour :

A Secular
&
Civil country

Last 10 years BJP has neither been ‘secular’nor ‘civil’

— Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) August 16, 2024

Modi said in his Independence Day address that a "secular civil code" is the need of the hour for the country. He also described the existing set of laws as a "communal civil code" and termed them discriminatory.

Referring to Modi's remarks, Sibal posted on X, "PM: 'Need of the hour...a Secular Civil Code in this country... spent 75 years under the Communal Civil Code'. My take: Need of the hour: A secular and civil country. In the last 10 years, the BJP has neither been 'secular' nor 'civil'." Addressing a press conference later in the morning, Sibal said the prime minister in his speech from the Red Fort spoke of a Uniform Civil Code but did not specify which laws he was talking about.

India's Constitution says it is a secular country and the BJP must embrace secularism not just in its speeches but also in actions, he noted.

The UCC is not an issue without which the country cannot progress, Sibal said and added that the nation will progress when one takes everyone along.

"The sad thing is that if you look at prime ministers over the years, no PM has given such controversial speeches as he (Modi) has. You would remember that in the past (he has spoken about) 'shamshan-kabristan', love jihad, 'ghuspetiye' etc. His CM in Assam talks about 'flood jihad'," Sibal said.

"They talk of security of Hindus... we all want it. But the Assam CM does not allow our Hindu brothers, who want to crossover from Bangladesh as the circumstances are adverse for them, to do so," the senior advocate and former Congress leader added.

It is not in the country's interest to do this kind of politics, Sibal said, slamming the BJP and adding that it first needs to understand the meaning of secularism.

"First they have to become secular only then the country would be secular. The other word is civil the meaning of which has to be understood... (when) there is no row over what one wears or eats only then can there be civility," he said.

Sibal also referred to eatery owners along the Kanwar Yatra route in Uttar Pradesh being asked to display their names.

"You indulge in such controversial things and then talk big from the Red Fort. People will listen and say what the PM is saying is fine, it should happen, but then they will see what is happening on the ground which is the opposite," he added.

Modi said in his Independence Day address, "A large section of the country believes, which is true also, that the civil code is actually in a way a communal civil code. It discriminates (among people)." The prime minister said laws which divide the country on communal lines and become a reason for inequality have no place in a modern society.

"I would say, it is the need of the hour that India has a secular civil code. We have lived 75 years with a communal civil code. Now, we have to move towards a secular civil code. Only then would religion-based discrimination end," he said.