Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan on Saturday said the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) would not infringe on the rights guaranteed to minorities under the relevant articles of the Constitution.
Mr. Muraleedharan attempted to assuage the fears of the Muslim and Christian communities in Kerala after Prime Minister Narendra Modi mooted a discussion on the UCC.
Church leaders, Muslim organisations, the Indian Union Muslim League, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) saw an ulterior motive in re-igniting the spirited debate on the UCC. They opined that the Bharatiya Janata Party aspired to impose the UCC to deprive minorities of their personal laws that govern marriage, divorce, and inheritance to appease the Sangh Parivar that sought to saffronise the country.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also stated that the BJP’s gambit to galvanise the majority community votes dovetailed with the Sangh Parivar’s attempt to impose its “one nation, one culture” agenda on a country characterised by astonishing cultural, social, linguistic, ethnic and religious diversity.
Mr. Muraleedharan said the CPI(M) appeared afraid to debate the UCC. Article 44 of the Constitution envisaged it. “Let the people discuss it. Let them express their views. Why are they (Opposition parties) scared of debates? In a democratic system, they should welcome healthy debates and dialogues,” he said.
Mr. Muraleedharan urged Muslims and Christians not to fall for CPI(M) ‘s scaremongering. The CPI(M) hoped to play its brand of divisive politics by demonising the BJP’s intentions.
On Friday, BJP’s Kerala Prabhari Prakash Javadekar said the CPI(M), which batted for a UCC, had taken a page out of vote bank politics and reversed course. He said the UCC remained in force in Goa and Puducherry. “The Muslims in those States had no complaint,” he said.
Mr Javadekar claimed that a uniform secular set of laws was imperative for ensuring gender justice. The UCC was in tune with the Constitution’s founding principles. “Unfortunately, the IUML opposed the UCC,” he said.
Meanwhile, the UCC debate appeared to have sown some confusion in the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) ranks. IUML leader K.M. Shaji urged the Congress to take an unequivocal stance on the UCC. Earlier, some Muslim community leaders slammed the Congress for being ambivalent about the UCC.
