The Evening Wrap: Country needs Uniform Civil Code, asserts PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India needed a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) as the country could not run with the dual system of “separate laws for separate communities”. He was addressing booth-level workers of the BJP in Bhopal (and the speech being livestreamed to 10 lakh workers of the party), an address which clearly signalled his government’s intent on bringing the UCC. His statement on the UCC — a divisive issue on which several minority communities have often expressed reservations — comes at a time when the country’s political calendar for the next one year is packed with Assembly polls in five States and the 2024 General Elections. It also comes less than a fortnight after the 22nd Law Commission of India sought fresh suggestions from various stakeholders, including public and religious organisations, on the UCC. There was also dual messaging in Mr. Modi’s address wherein he urged the Muslim community in India to “understand which political parties are instigating them to ruin themselves”, an urging at a time when he had been dogged with concerns expressed in certain quarters of the United States, during his state visit there, on minority rights. “Colleagues, Muslims in India will have to understand which political parties are instigating them to ruin them while reaping benefits for themselves. These days, we are seeing that such people are being instigated in the name of Uniform Civil Code. You tell me, if in the same family there is one law for one member and another law for a second member, will that household be able to function? Can one run the country with such dual system?” he asked. Attacking his political opponents for using Muslims to further their interests at the cost of the community’s well-being, particularly that of the Pasmanda Muslims, the Prime Minister reminded his audience that same rights for all citizens had been mentioned in the Constitution too. “Friends, they [opponents] level allegations against us, but the truth is the same people who speak for Muslims, if they were true well-wishers of the Muslims, then majority of the families of my Muslim brothers and sisters would not have lagged behind in education, jobs and would not have been compelled to lead tough lives. And the Supreme Court has said time and again, it cracks its whip and says bring Common Civil Code but these vote bank-hungry people … [pauses, followed by a cheer from the crowd],” he said, of the UCC. With Ram temple and Article 370 out of the way, the UCC is the only major fundamental plank that the BJP has termed its “core issues” left to be addressed and implemented. The party since its inception and even during Jana Sangh days has backed the same. While a BJP government in Uttarakhand had formed an expert panel to implement the UCC, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government in Madhya Pradesh — a State that goes to polls this year and one where Tuesday’s event was held — has also spoken about constituting a similar committee. Read here our Legal Correspondent’s analysis on how Modi’s pitch for UCC is on the same lines as Centre’s affidavit in Supreme Court. Biennial polls to Rajya Sabha seats on July 24; Jaishankar, O’Brien among those retiring Elections to 10 Rajya Sabha seats, including those held by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O’Brien, will be held on July 24, the Election Commission said on June 27. The 10 seats in the Upper House of Parliament are falling vacant in July and August with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members Vinay D Tendulkar from Goa and Mr. Jaishankar, Jugalsinh Lokhandwala and Dineshchandra Anavadiya from Gujarat being among those completing their tenures. TMC members O’Brien, Dola Sen, Sushmita Dev, Shanta Chhetri and Sukhendu Sekhar Ray are retiring from West Bengal. Congress member Pradip Bhattacharya also completes his tenure in August. According to practice, the counting of votes will take place at 5 pm on July 24 itself, an hour after the conclusion of the poll process. According to a statement issued by the EC, the 10 members are retiring between July 28 and August 18 on the completion of their six-year term in the Upper House. Putin says Russia paid $1 bn to Wagner group over last year Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow had paid out last year just over $1 billion to the Wagner mercenary group, which last week staged a failed mutiny. “The state paid to the Wagner group 86.262 billion rubles (around $1 billion) for salaries for fighters and incentive rewards between May 2022 and May 2023 alone,” Mr. Putin said. He was speaking to defence officials in televised remarks at the start of a meeting. Russia once denied the very existence of Wagner, a shadowy mercenary army that defends Moscow’s interests with operations in several African and Middle Eastern states. But since its fighters became one of the mainstays of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, Wagner’s chief — former Kremlin catering contractor Yevgeny Prigozhin — has gone public. Meanwhile, Prigozhin arrived in Belarus, state news agency BELTA said, quoting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. A plane linked to Prigozhin and believed to be carrying him into exile landed in Belarus from the southern Russian city of Rostov early on Tuesday, a flight tracking service said. “I see Prigozhin is already flying in on this plane,” Lukashenko was quoted as saying by BELTA. “Yes, indeed, he is in Belarus today.” Last Chinese reporter ‘expelled’ after India denies visa extension The last remaining Chinese reporter in India has been effectively expelled after having been denied a visa extension earlier this month. The reporter, from China’s official Xinhua news agency, left New Delhi around one week ago, according to people familiar with the development. The expulsion marks the first instance of there being no Chinese journalists in India since the normalisation of relations in the 1980s. There is currently one Indian reporter from the Press Trust of India news agency who remains in Beijing. The Chinese Foreign Ministry on June 12 said the reporter was “still working and living normally in China” but suggested that it may take countermeasures if India did not extend the visa of “the last Chinese journalist in the country”. In brief Tomato prices have recently shot up in the markets across the country from ₹10-20 per kg to a price of ₹80-100 per kg. The reason behind this is the dip in supply due to heatwaves in tomato-growing areas and heavy rain. Ajay Kedia, a Mumbai-based commodity market expert and head of Kedia Advisory said, "this year, for a variety of reasons, fewer tomatoes were sown than in prior years. As the price of beans surged last year, many farmers switched to growing beans this year. However, a lack of monsoon rains has caused the crops to dry out and wilt. The limited supply of vegetables, particularly tomatoes are due to crop damage caused by heavy rainfall and extreme heat." Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 27 June 2023 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Country needs Uniform Civil Code, asserts PM Modi Prime Minister [Narendra Modi has said that India needed a Uniform Civil Code (UCC)]( as the country could not run with the dual system of “separate laws for separate communities”. He was addressing booth-level workers of the BJP in Bhopal (and the speech being livestreamed to 10 lakh workers of the party), an address which clearly signalled his government’s intent on bringing the UCC. His statement on the UCC — a divisive issue on which several minority communities have often expressed reservations — comes at a time when the country’s political calendar for the next one year is packed with Assembly polls in five States and the 2024 General Elections. It also comes less than a fortnight after the 22nd Law Commission of India sought fresh suggestions from various stakeholders, including public and religious organisations, on the UCC. There was also dual messaging in Mr. Modi’s address wherein he urged the Muslim community in India to “understand which political parties are instigating them to ruin themselves”, an urging at a time when he had been dogged with concerns expressed in certain quarters of the United States, during his state visit there, on minority rights. “Colleagues, Muslims in India will have to understand which political parties are instigating them to ruin them while reaping benefits for themselves. These days, we are seeing that such people are being instigated in the name of Uniform Civil Code. You tell me, if in the same family there is one law for one member and another law for a second member, will that household be able to function? Can one run the country with such dual system?” he asked. Attacking his political opponents for using Muslims to further their interests at the cost of the community’s well-being, particularly that of the Pasmanda Muslims, the Prime Minister reminded his audience that same rights for all citizens had been mentioned in the Constitution too. “Friends, they [opponents] level allegations against us, but the truth is the same people who speak for Muslims, if they were true well-wishers of the Muslims, then majority of the families of my Muslim brothers and sisters would not have lagged behind in education, jobs and would not have been compelled to lead tough lives. And the Supreme Court has said time and again, it cracks its whip and says bring Common Civil Code but these vote bank-hungry people … [pauses, followed by a cheer from the crowd],” he said, of the UCC. With Ram temple and Article 370 out of the way, the UCC is the only major fundamental plank that the BJP has termed its “core issues” left to be addressed and implemented. The party since its inception and even during Jana Sangh days has backed the same. While a BJP government in Uttarakhand had formed an expert panel to implement the UCC, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government in Madhya Pradesh — a State that goes to polls this year and one where Tuesday’s event was held — has also spoken about constituting a similar committee. Read [here]( our Legal Correspondent’s analysis on how Modi’s pitch for UCC is on the same lines as Centre’s affidavit in Supreme Court. Biennial polls to Rajya Sabha seats on July 24; Jaishankar, O’Brien among those retiring Elections to 10 Rajya Sabha seats, including those held by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O’Brien, [will be held on July 24]( the Election Commission said on June 27. The 10 seats in the Upper House of Parliament are falling vacant in July and August with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members Vinay D Tendulkar from Goa and Mr. Jaishankar, Jugalsinh Lokhandwala and Dineshchandra Anavadiya from Gujarat being among those completing their tenures. TMC members O’Brien, Dola Sen, Sushmita Dev, Shanta Chhetri and Sukhendu Sekhar Ray are retiring from West Bengal. Congress member Pradip Bhattacharya also completes his tenure in August. According to practice, the counting of votes will take place at 5 pm on July 24 itself, an hour after the conclusion of the poll process. According to a statement issued by the EC, the 10 members are retiring between July 28 and August 18 on the completion of their six-year term in the Upper House. Putin says Russia paid $1 bn to Wagner group over last year Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that [Moscow had paid out last year just over $1 billion to the Wagner mercenary group]( which last week staged a failed mutiny. “The state paid to the Wagner group 86.262 billion rubles (around $1 billion) for salaries for fighters and incentive rewards between May 2022 and May 2023 alone,” Mr. Putin said. He was speaking to defence officials in televised remarks at the start of a meeting. Russia once denied the very existence of Wagner, a shadowy mercenary army that defends Moscow’s interests with operations in several African and Middle Eastern states. But since its fighters became one of the mainstays of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, Wagner’s chief — former Kremlin catering contractor Yevgeny Prigozhin — has gone public. Meanwhile, [Prigozhin arrived in Belarus]( state news agency BELTA said, quoting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. A plane linked to Prigozhin and believed to be carrying him into exile landed in Belarus from the southern Russian city of Rostov early on Tuesday, a flight tracking service said. “I see Prigozhin is already flying in on this plane,” Lukashenko was quoted as saying by BELTA. “Yes, indeed, he is in Belarus today.” Last Chinese reporter ‘expelled’ after India denies visa extension The [last remaining Chinese reporter in India has been effectively expelled]( after having been denied a visa extension earlier this month. The reporter, from China’s official Xinhua news agency, left New Delhi around one week ago, according to people familiar with the development. The expulsion marks the first instance of there being no Chinese journalists in India since the normalisation of relations in the 1980s. There is currently one Indian reporter from the Press Trust of India news agency who remains in Beijing. The Chinese Foreign Ministry on June 12 said the reporter was “still working and living normally in China” but suggested that it may take countermeasures if India did not extend the visa of “the last Chinese journalist in the country”. In brief [Tomato prices have recently shot up]( in the markets across the country from ₹10-20 per kg to a price of ₹80-100 per kg. The reason behind this is the dip in supply due to heatwaves in tomato-growing areas and heavy rain. Ajay Kedia, a Mumbai-based commodity market expert and head of Kedia Advisory said, "this year, for a variety of reasons, fewer tomatoes were sown than in prior years. As the price of beans surged last year, many farmers switched to growing beans this year. However, a lack of monsoon rains has caused the crops to dry out and wilt. The limited supply of vegetables, particularly tomatoes are due to crop damage caused by heavy rainfall and extreme heat." Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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