BJP always raises issue of Uniform Civil Code during elections: Congress leader Ramesh
Sumra Khedi (MP) (PTI): Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of raking up the issue of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) whenever there are elections.
He also asserted that the Congress's Bharat Jodo Yatra was not an event, but a movement.
"BJP always raises the issue of Common (Uniform) Civil Code when polls are due. This time elections are underway in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh," Ramesh told reporters at Sumra Khedi in Agar Malwa district, where the Rahul Gandhi-led foot march reached earlier in the day.
"I have mentioned in Parliament also that the Law Commission headed by Justice B S Chauhan in its 185-page report dated August 31, 2018 on the issue said that Common Civil Code is neither desirable nor necessary...BJP always raises it whenever there are elections," he said.
The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday announced that a committee will be formed for the implementation of the UCC in the state. Some other BJP-ruled states, including Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, had made similar announcements recently.
When asked about the BJP labelling the foot march as an event, Ramesh said, "Bharat Jodo Yatra is a movement and not an event."
"BJP is a master of managing events and once even party stalwart L K Advani had said about (PM Narendra) Modi that he is the world's brilliant event manager," the former Union minister said.
"An event never lasts for such a long period. Bharat Jodo Yatra will go on for 140 days and no event can last so long," Ramesh added.
On the BJP criticising actor Swara Bhasker for joining the Rahul Gandhi-led foot march, he said that not just a Bollywood personality, but people from different walks of life, including television actors, RSS leader, ex-Army personnel, among others, joined the yatra on their own.
"Even (Yoga guru) Baba Ramdev has praised it," he said.
The march led by Gandhi entered Madhya Pradesh on November 23 from Bodarli village of Burhanpur district from neighbouring Maharashtra and will enter Rajasthan from Agar Malwa district on December 4.
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Child rape-murder: Hundreds protest on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Pune; traffic hit
Pune (PTI): Hundreds of people blocked the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Pune to protest the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl, leading to traffic disruption on the busy route for about four hours.
The girl's family members and other demonstrators placed the body on the road in the Navale Bridge area on Saturday evening and demanded stringent punishment for the 65-year-old man arrested in the case.
Several videos surfaced showing a huge traffic jam on the highway.
Later, the victim's last rites were performed at the Vaikunt crematorium here shortly after midnight amid tight police security.
The accused man, who works as a labourer and has a criminal record, allegedly lured the girl with the promise of food on Friday in the Bhor tehsil of Pune district. He then took her to a cattle enclosure where he allegedly sexually assaulted her and later killed her by hitting her with a stone, according to the police.
He was arrested based on CCTV footage from a private residence, which captured him with the child.
A case was registered against him under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and he has been remanded in police custody till May 7.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar on Saturday met the family of the victim, assuring them of strict action against the accused and a fast-track trial.
Describing the incident as "shocking" and a "blot on humanity", Pawar said the government stands firmly with the victim's family and will ensure justice.
She also spoke to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and sought a fast-track court trial so that the accused receives the harshest punishment.
Deputy CM Eknath Shinde directed Pune rural police to gather concrete evidence to build a watertight case and conduct the trial in a fast-track court.
Efforts should be made to ensure the accused gets the death penalty, a statement quoted Shinde as saying.
