Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made a strong pitch for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), saying the Constitution also mentions of having equal rights for all citizens.
Addressing a gathering of party workers here, Modi also said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided it would not adopt the path of appeasement and vote bank politics.
Modi said the Opposition is using the issue of UCC to mislead and provoke the Muslim community. “You tell me, in a home, how can there be one law for one member and another law for another member?” Modi said.
“Will that home be able to function? Then how will the country be able to function with such a dual system? We have to remember that even in India’s Constitution, there is a mention of equal rights for all,” he said.
“These people (opposition) level allegations against us but the reality is that they chant Musalman, Musalman. Had they really been (working) in the interests of Muslims, then Muslim families would not have been lagging in education and jobs,” he said. The policy of appeasement practised by some is “disastrous” for the country, Modi said during his visit to Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, where the Assembly polls are due this year-end.
Modi said that Pasmanda Muslims, who are backward, are not even treated as equal because of the vote bank politics. ‘Pasmanda’, a term for backward classes among Muslims, often finds a mention in Prime Minister Modi’s speeches, at party forum as well as government events, and how the government has worked for the deprived without any discrimination.
Modi said that in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, South India, especially in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, and a number of other states, many castes were left behind from development because of the policy of appeasement.
He also said those supporting triple talaq were doing grave injustice to Muslim daughters. Triple talaq was abolished in Egypt 80-90 years ago. If it is necessary, then why has it been abolished in Pakistan, Qatar and other Muslim-dominated nations, the prime minister said.
“Triple talaq doesn’t just do injustice to daughters…entire families get ruined. If triple talaq is an essential part of Islam, then why was it banned in countries like Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia?” Modi asked.
And in 2019 election manifesto, the BJP had promised the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and it has been a longpending demand of the SanghParivar as well. Moreover, the state governments in Uttarakhand Gujarat are already preparing drafts of the UCC in their states. While the AIMPLB has resisted the demand for UCC calling it anti minority and unconstitutional, the BJP believes that it is imperative that all citizens are governed by common law. UCC essentially is a common set of law governing various aspects of private and public life like marriage, divorce, inheritance among other things. It endeavours to replace personal laws that govern succession marriage and inheritance.
The UCC has been one of the three pillars of BJP agenda. The first was abrogation of Article 370 followed by contradiction of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya and a UCC for all citizens. It does not concern Muslims alone. Many communities within the country follow their own laws when it comes to marriage, succession, inheritance and divorce. It is a misconception in India and abroad that Muslims alone are governed by their personal laws and hence will be affected. Many political parties like the Congress and AIMIM have treaded cautiously on UCC or followed a policy of absolutely condemning it.
