BJP-led Centre bowled UCC 'googly' to divert attention from people's issues: Sachin Pilot
New Delhi, Jul 9: Amid a raging debate over a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), Congress leader Sachin Pilot has said the talk about it is just "kite-flying" as there is no concrete proposal and alleged that the BJP-led Centre has bowled this "googly" to divert attention from the real issues concerning people.
In an interview with PTI, Pilot said there is nothing on a UCC in the standing committees or Parliament and the talk is just based on a "rhetorical political speech".
The former Union minister said there is no concrete proposal on a UCC and it is just being used by the BJP-led Centre as a "political tool".
The 22nd Law Commission had, on June 14, initiated a fresh consultation process on a UCC by seeking views from the stakeholders, including members of the public and recognised religious organisations, on the politically-sensitive issue.
Addressing a gathering of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Bhopal last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch for a UCC, saying the Constitution calls for equal rights for all citizens.
Asked about the raging debate over a UCC, Pilot said, "What is the agenda, where is the bill, what are we discussing? It is just kite-flying.... There is no agenda on the table either in Parliament or otherwise. What is its definition?"
"I am all for gender equality, of making people get justice in every way, in personal life or inheritance, but there has to be a proper format. Why are we not talking about issues that are far more important as opposed to this divisive agenda, which is still kite-flying?" the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister asked.
There is nothing that has been said by the standing committee or in Parliament and it is just a rhetorical political speech that evokes reactions, he said.
"Once you have the provocative issue being discussed in television studios and other places, then will people stop talking about (the prices of) tomatoes being over Rs 100 a kg.... The jobs at hand, the inflation, the problem the economy is facing and all the challenges that we are having at hand -- those then get diluted," Pilot said.
Let the government come forward with what it wants to say as only different noises are heard from it to keep the newsrooms occupied with reactions and counter-reactions, he added.
"We have to talk about issues that matter to people. That is far more important. They (government) have bowled a googly, now keep discussing it. The debate will continue. No one knows anything about the proposal. The central government deliberately works to divert attention so that there is no discussion on inflation," the former Union minister alleged.
"If any deprived person, be it a man or a woman, has to be given rights and respect, given property rights, empowered, then who would protest that, but there is no blueprint regarding that, it (UCC) is only being used as a political tool," Pilot said.
The Congress has said there is no change in its stance on the issue, as enumerated in its June 15 statement where it questioned the law commission for changing its stand on a UCC by inviting fresh public opinion.
A UCC refers to a common set of laws that is applicable to all citizens of India and is not based on religion, and deals with marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption among other matters.
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Man kills woman lecturer, sets car ablaze; dies by suicide in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): A 46-year-old man allegedly killed a woman lecturer by setting fire to the car with her inside, before dying by suicide; his severed body was found by railway police the next day, police said on Tuesday.
The deceased, identified as Ramanjinappa, a resident of Doddaballapura, was a contract worker in the tahsildar’s office, they said.
Police said the man, who was married and had apparently separated from his wife, was in an illicit relationship with a woman identified as Saroja, whose charred body was found inside a gutted car in an isolated area near the Bashetty Industrial Area in Doddaballapura taluk on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
Saroja was also married and had a son, police said.
According to police, on Saturday, the man allegedly borrowed a car from an acquaintance, claiming he had a medical emergency and needed to visit a hospital.
Citing preliminary investigations, a senior police officer said the man picked up the lecturer from a bus stop in Devanahalli. The two spent a couple of hours driving around Nandi Hills and nearby areas.
Later, they reached a secluded spot in Doddaballapura, where it is suspected that an argument ensued inside the car, following which he allegedly hit her on the head with a hammer, the officer said.
He then set the car on fire, reportedly using petrol, and is believed to have died by suicide thereafter, police said.
Locals who saw the burning car alerted the police and fire department, who rushed to the spot, extinguished the fire, and found the woman’s body completely charred inside the vehicle, the officer added.
His severed body was found near railway tracks in Bidadi by the railway police on Sunday, he said.
The motive and whether the crime was premeditated or impulsive are under investigation, he said.
Saroja’s husband filed a complaint accusing Ramanjinappa of killing her, police said, adding that a detailed investigation is underway to establish the exact sequence of events.
