New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday stressed on the need to bring a ‘Secular Civil Code’ instead of using the term ‘Universal Civil Code’, hinting at the government’s intention to broad-base the policy and avoid friction on the contentious issue, both within the ruling NDA and outside.
This is the first time that Modi has referred to the Universal Civil Code (UCC) as ‘Secular Civil Code’, a move many within the BJP claim will leave the Opposition with no choice.
The opposition, the BJP leaders say, will not be able to criticise it as the PM has made a case for a secular code.
“This simple rephrasing has changed the entire dynamics, and the PM has changed the entire false narrative that the Opposition had built and was raising it. The BJP is not anti-Muslim, and the fact that the PM is pushing for a Secular Code means that the Opposition will not be able to counter it. What are they going to tell the people, that secularism is bad?” a senior BJP leader told ThePrint.
Addressing from the Red Fort, two months after he started his third term, Modi said the current civil code resembles a “Communal Civil Code.”
“In our country, the Supreme Court has repeatedly addressed the issue of the Uniform Civil Code. Numerous orders have been issued, reflecting the belief of a significant portion of our population — and rightly so — that the current Civil Code resembles a Communal Civil Code, one that is discriminatory,” he said.
Pushing for a ‘Secular Civil Code’, Modi further said that “laws that divide our nation based on religion and foster discrimination have no place in modern society.” The code, he said, will eliminate ‘religious discrimination. ’
“… the time has come for the country to demand a Secular Civil Code. After 75 years of a Communal Civil Code, it is crucial to move towards a Secular Civil Code. Once this shift takes place, it will eliminate religious discrimination and will bridge the gap felt by ordinary citizens,” Modi said.
A number of senior BJP leaders, including PM Modi, had promised to implement the UCC nationally once voted to power along the lines of the Uttarakhand UCC. The implementation of UCC has been on the agenda of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
A reduced tally in the Lok Sabha elections signifying ‘over-reliance’ on coalition partners had led to many within the BJP assuming that the ‘dream’ of implementing the UCC could be carried out only through state-level exercise.
After Uttarakhand, many BJP-ruled states, including Rajasthan and Assam, had also made their intention of implementing the UCC.
A second BJP leader said that the Sangh Parivar has been making a strong case for bringing in the UCC and that with reduced numbers at the Centre, it was felt that individual states could take up these issues.
“It was felt that states are equipped to bring in such rules and regulations to cater to the demands of the region considering the fact that the government needs the support of the allies. However, with the PM’s pitch it seems clear that the party has not abandoned UCC from its agenda (on a national level),” the party functionary said.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has not officially commented on the matter, so far.
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‘Implemented two core agenda, only UCC left’
“There are three core agenda of the BJP — the Ram Mandir, the abrogation of Article 370, and the UCC. We have implemented two. The UCC, too, is a promise of the party that it will make efforts to implement and will expose the appeasement politics of the Opposition,” the second BJP leader said.
Soon after the speech got over, the Opposition accused PM Modi of peddling a “divisive agenda”, with the Congress slamming his “communal civil code” remarks and termed it as a “gross insult” to B.R. Ambedkar.
“The non-biological PM’s capacity for malice, mischief, and maligning of history knows no bounds. It was on full display today from the Red Fort,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on ‘X’.
“To say that we have had a ‘communal civil code’ till now is a gross insult to Dr Ambedkar, who was the greatest champion of reforms in Hindu personal laws that became a reality by the mid-1950s. These reforms had been bitterly opposed by the RSS and the Jan Sangh,” he added.
Ashwani Mahajan, national co-convenor of Sangh affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch, welcomed the PM’s speech. “It’s time for Uniform Civil Code, a secular civil code, in place of a communal civil code. Well said PM,” he posted on ‘X’.
Allies on guard
However, NDA allies of the Janata Dal (United) have so far adopted a guarded approach with the Nitish Kumar-led party refusing to comment on the issue in the absence of a clear detailed plan.
A section in the BJP claims that the party will have to be cautious in its approach considering the fact that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). While the has TDP expressed support to the BJP on national issues, it has recently flagged certain sections of the Waqf Amendment Bill.
Sources within the JD(U) said the party is yet to take a formal stand on the ‘Secular Civil Code’.
Senior leader K.C. Tyagi maintained Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had already made his stand clear in the letter he had written to the Law Commission in 2017.
“You see Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had written a letter wherein he had pointed out that while the party is not anti-reforms, it’s (UCC) a complicated case and requires involvement of states and wider participation is required. The stand of the JD(U) is reflected in the letter written by Nitish ji,” the senior JD(U) said.
BJP national spokesperson R.P.Singh told ThePrint that the party is not ‘anti-Muslim’ and in fact follows the mantra of ‘sabka saath, sabka vishwas’. “UCC is pro-women so the Muslim women will gain from it,” he said.
BJP Minority Morcha president Jamal Siddiqui batted for the UCC, saying that the country was united with everyone enjoying the same rights.
“We should not discriminate on the basis of religion. If the country is secular (and it is there in the Constitution, too), then why should our laws not be secular? Those who call BJP a Hinduwadi party and its laws will favour Hindus, today through his speech the PM has clearly shown that when it comes to governance all religions are equal and the Constitution is our main guiding force and laws will be implemented on the basis of that. This is a positive signal for the country,” he said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)