S.Q.R. Ilyas, spokesperson of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), has sought a united attempt to defeat the Centre’s proposal to bring in a Uniform Civil Code, which, he said, will polarise the country.
He was here on Wednesday to meet leaders of Muslim organisations in Kerala. The board is holding similar meetings in various States across the country.
Mr. Ilyas said that the UCC would affect all sections of people. That was the opinion expressed by various religious leaders with whom the board had held discussions. Protection of personal laws, strengthening of inter-community relations, and convincing religious believers about the importance of the Shariat were the tasks being taken up by the board, he said.
Mr. Ilyas alleged that the Centre came up with the UCC proposal as it wanted to divert attention from serious issues such as price rise and corruption. Since the UCC did not click the way they expected, an attempt was being made to focus on the Gyanvapi Masjid controversy. Efforts to enforce the Sangh Parivar’s agenda would hurt the country’s interests, he added. Representatives of the Indian Union Muslim League, Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, and the Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen, among others, attended the meeting.
