I'm not apologetic even if he said so: VHP chief on Allahabad HC judge remark on majority's say in law

Lucknow: Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) chief Alok Kumar on Tuesday rejected opposition criticism of Allahabad High Court judge Shekhar Yadav for attending and speaking at a VHP event in Prayagraj, and asserted such "awareness meets" would continue to be organised.

Justice Yadav spoke on Uniform Civil Code and other issues during a provincial convention of the VHP's Legal Cell and High Court Unit on Sunday.

The videos of him speaking at the event, where he also reportedly said the law should work according to the majority, were circulated widely triggering a strong reaction from opposition parties.

Kumar, who is VHP international president, said on Tuesday he was not present at the Prayagraj meeting, but was certainly aware of the deliberations.

"We had invited the judge as a faculty to speak on the Uniform Civil Code. We work among former judges, invite them to work for the VHP, for Hindutva. But as far as sitting judges are concerned, we do not expect them or invite them to work for the VHP. Sometimes on topics like the UCC, we do invite them to enlighten us," Kumar told PTI on the phone.

"So, on the issue of UCC, the HC judge said at the meet it was a Constitutional mandate under the Directive Principles of State Policy. He said it should be expected that the directives should be adhered to by elected representatives. He referred to various SC judgments that insisted the governments should evolve a UCC and said that the UCC would be good for complete integration of society and unity of India," Kumar said.

The VHP leader, however, said he was not aware of the exact nature of the comments on "majority" attributed to the HC judge, but "I would not be apologetic" even if the HC judge has said so about majority having a say in how the laws should work.

"We had invited the judge to speak on the UCC. I would not be able to authenticate those views of his, but then the sentiments and emotions of the majority society deserve as much respect as the sensitivities of the minority," Kumar said.

"For example, our respect for cows. They may or may not respect cows. Now we cannot force everyone to respect cows. But then, considering our sensitivities, others may not insist on cow slaughter... (and) if they have certain sensitivities on certain subjects, they should be respected."

"Islam in India is technically a minority, but considering their good numbers, they are a second majority in India. So, unless we develop mutual respect, if not respect, then mutual tolerance for others' sensitivities, there cannot be any integration," the VHP leader said.

"So, I would not be apologetic about it if he (the HC judge) said so. If a majority holds a particular view, then others should not make an issue of it," he said.

Asked further on inviting a sitting judge at the event, Kumar said, "We ask our legal cell to organise awareness sessions or meetings inviting advocates in big numbers to advocate on issues like liberation of Hindu temples, provisions and amendments of the Waqf Act, and on UCC. So there would be meetings everywhere.” "We will invite former judges to speak on those aspects," the VHP chief told PTI.

Kumar's reference to "former judges" possibly gave away that, at least for now, given the controversy the Prayagraj event stirred up, sitting judges might not feature in such VHP events.

Meanwhile, lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan wrote to Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna seeking an "in-house enquiry" into the conduct of Justice Yadav. In the letter, Bhushan said Justice Yadav delivered a speech endorsing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) while making controversial remarks perceived as targeting the Muslim community.

In September 2021 also, Justice Shekhar Yadav made some observations on cows while hearing a case on their slaughter.

"Cows should be declared the national animal, and cow protection should be kept as a fundamental right of Hindus because when the culture and faith of the country are hurt, the country becomes weak," he had said.

He said the cow occupies an important place in Indian culture. "The great importance of the cow has been shown in the Indian Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana, etc. For this reason, cow is the basis of our culture." The VHP chief also said he was not aware of other comments attributed to the HC judge, including about how Hindu children were more tolerant than those from other faiths.