Days after Aam Aadmi Party leader Sandeep Pathak said they supported the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) “in principle”, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said Tuesday the AAP is a secular party and would not support any divisive tactic to garner votes.
On June 28, Pathak, AAP general secretary (organisation), said the party extended its “in-principle supsupport” to UCC but said it should be brought in with a consensus after extensive consultations with stakeholders.
Speaking to the media in Chandigarh, Mann said, “Our country is like a bouquet, which has flowers of every colour. Every religion and faith and also their rituals should be respected. Why do they keep tampering with such sensitive issues? They should follow the Constitution that says if everyone is socially equal, then there can be a UCC”.
“It is BJP’s agenda to divide during elections. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is a secular party and it does not support any such agenda,” he added.
After Pathak’s statement on UCC, Opposition parties in Punjab had lashed out at the state’s ruling party. The Congress had criticised it for “backing the BJP-led Union government’s agenda of polarisation ahead of the 2024 general elections” and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had demanded Mann to come clear on the issue.
