Jammu Kashmir : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday that if the BJP has the parliamentary numbers to pass the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), it should introduce the bill in Parliament rather than rolling it out through individual states.

Speaking to reporters in Srinagar Abdullah questioned why the party was pursuing the state-by-state route noting that even within the BJP’s own NDA alliance there isn’t consensus pointing to reports that the JD(U) has said it won’t implement UCC in Bihar.

He argued the BJP shouldn’t try to bring in the code through the backdoor and suggested the opposition from its allies is likely why it hasn’t attempted to pass it in Parliament directly.

He also argued that a UCC implemented only in BJP ruled states couldn’t truly be called universal since the party doesn’t govern every state and territory. A law of this scope, he said should be decided by the country as a whole through Parliament not piecemeal by individual states.

He drew a parallel to other legislation the BJP has talked up but never actually introduced in Parliament, citing One Nation, One Election and reservation related proposals as examples.

On other matters Abdullah welcomed the de escalation along the Line of Actual Control, calling any reduction in tension a good step, especially for people living near the LoC/LAC.

He also addressed China’s recent comments praising India’s foreign policy saying New Delhi’s policy is independent and doesn’t need validation from other countries warning that seeking such approval could backfire if a country later criticizes India instead.

The chief minister said the BRICS summit’s condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack was a success of India’s foreign policy. The fact that Pahalgam itself was condemned (at BRICS summit) is a big thing.

Please see how many allies of Pakistan were in that room. Therefore for even Pahalgam to be mentioned by name that in itself is a success of our foreign policy, he added.