A delegation of Muslim organisations said it spent nearly 90 minutes searching for the office of the Maharashtra Uniform Civil Code (UCC) committee chairperson in Mumbai but failed to locate it. The delegation has demanded a 100-day extension of the November 15 deadline for submitting public objections.
The group visited the Old Custom House in Mumbai on Wednesday, November 11. It included representatives of the All India Sunni Jamat Ulama, Raza Academy, Jamat Ulama Ahle Sunnat, Wahdat-e-Islami Hind and the All-Party Federation Maharashtra. Maulana Ijaz Kashmiri, Anjuman Ali Bape Saheb, Maulana Azmat Ali and Ilyas Momin from Pune were among them.
According to Maulana Ijaz Kashmiri, the government had given the address of the committee’s chairperson, a retired judge, as the second floor of the Old Custom House. He said the delegation went from one department and official to another for about one and a half hours, but nobody could tell them clearly where the office was.
Kashmiri said it showed serious administrative lapses that officials could not locate the office of a committee dealing with an issue this important, and urged the government to be transparent, as well as extend the deadline and give citizens a fair chance to state their concerns.
Ilyas Momin of the All-Party Federation Maharashtra said the members used the address available online and were sent to Room No. 107, an administrative office, where a tehsildar was present. They also asked an assistant revenue officer for help, he said, and waited about half an hour, but got no clear answer about which office takes objections on the UCC.
Momin also raised a problem for people sending their objections by registered post. He said even postal staff had struggled to say which office should receive registered letters and postal orders carrying objections and supporting documents. He asked how ordinary citizens could take part when government staff and postal workers could not identify the office.
He said the proposed UCC touches on religion, faith and Shariah, so it is important for the communities affected to take part in the consultation. He urged all community members to support the effort, and said more such facts and objections would be put before the authorities.
The delegation’s main demand is a 100-day extension, as it says the present arrangements and difficulties could stop a large section of people from sending their views by the deadline.
