PNS|Hyderabad
Opposition parties attacked Prime Minister Modi for his comments on the UCC with the Congress saying that he was making such remarks only to ‘divert’ attention from ‘real’ issues like unemployment and the Manipur violence.
AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi asked whether the country’s pluralism would get “snatched away” if the UCC is not passed. “Make a law against those who abandon their wives,” Owaisi said.
“It seems Modiji did not understand Obama’s advice properly. Will the PM end ‘Hindu Undivided Family’? Because of HUF, the country loses Rs 3064 crore every year,” he said. “On the one hand the PM is shedding crocodile tears for Pasmanda Muslims, and on the other hand his pawns are attacking their mosques, taking away their livelihoods, bulldozing their homes and lynching them. They are also opposing reservations for backward Muslims. His government has stopped scholarships for poor Muslims,” Owaisi said.
If Pasmanda Muslims are being exploited, what is Modi doing about it? Before seeking votes from Pasmanda Muslims, BJP workers should go door-to-door and apologize that their spokespersons and MLAs tried to insult our Prophet, he said.
Citing Pakistan, Modi said that there is a ban on triple talaq. “Why is Modi taking inspiration from Pakistani law? He even made a law against triple talaq here, but it did not make any difference at the ground level. Rather, the exploitation of women has increased. We have always been demanding that social reform cannot happen through laws. If a law has to be made, then it should be made against those men who flee from their marriages,” Owaisi said.
Congress General Secretary (organisation), KC Venugopal said the Prime Minister can say anything, but “he has to answer the real questions of this country, that is, unemployment, price rise and the Manipur issue.”
“Manipur has been burning for 60 days. Why has the PM not uttered a single word? These are all diversionary issues. He wants to run away from the real issues of the country, that is why they are trying to divert issues,” he said.
Addressing a gathering of party workers in Bhopal, Prime Minister Modi made a strong pitch for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), saying that the Constitution calls for equal rights for all citizens.
Modi also said the opposition is using the issue of UCC to mislead the Muslim community.
“You tell me, in a home, how can there be one law for one member and another law for another member? 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) for the interests of Muslims, then Muslim families would not have been lagging behind in education and jobs,” he said.
Launching a strong counterattack, the BJP hit out at the opposition, saying the UCC has been provided in the Constitution as a directive principle of state policy, and the Supreme Court has also endorsed the provision.
At a press conference, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav slammed the opposition over their accusation that the BJP is trying to create division among Muslims by wooing the Pasmanda community, saying they should be “ashamed” of not doing anything for those belonging to “the exploited deprived and oppressed” sections of society.
State minister leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary also alleged that by touching upon UCC, Modi was aiming at communal polarization.
RJD leader Manoj Jha said the Prime Minister should not make such issues an instrument of “dog-whistle politics.”
“Before speaking, the Prime Minister should have examined what the 21st law commission had said, deeply analysed debates of the constituent assembly without taking help because those out to help you, end up causing harm through you,” Jha said.
Jha said the Hindu religion also has a lot of diversity and it cannot be painted with one brush.
“My expectation is not to make these issues an instrument of dog whistle politics. If it has to be discussed, do so threadbare from micro to macro level, otherwise, it will seem after his recent trip abroad that he says ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ there and forgets about it when he comes here,” the senior leader from the Lalu Prasad-led party said.
Reacting to Modi’s remarks, Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury said, “Muslims are sensible people. They also participated in the freedom struggle and contributed to the nation’s progress. They do not need any certificates. He is presenting his own thoughts.”
