Lucknow: The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has no objection to the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) but suspects that the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is raising the issue “to cover up its failures and divert the public’s attention”, party supreme Mayawati said Sunday.
Speaking to select media persons in Lucknow, Mayawati advised the BJP government at the Centre to rise above “politics of narrow selfishness and religious bias” and “focus its attention on problems like inflation, poverty, unemployment and lack of basic needs like education and health.”
“…I want to say that our party is not against implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) but it does not agree with the ways in which the BJP and its government is implementing it, where we can see more politics of narrow selfishness rather than ‘sarvjan hitaaye, sarvjan sukhaye (for good of all, for welfare of all)’, which is not correct,” she said.
The BSP chief’s comments come at a time when the debate around UCC — which aims to replace personal laws which find their basis in religion with a common set of laws for all citizens — has witnessed strong opposition from several parties.
While some, like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), backed the idea, others have termed it an attempt to “polarise the electorate” ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Stating that even Article 44 of the Constitution mentions UCC, Mayawati said the BJP should ensure there is no religious bias in its implementation.
“If the BJP does something like this, our party will take a positive stand, otherwise we will oppose it,” she said in a statement issued by her party.
Citing Article 44 of the Constitution the BSP chief said, “On the other hand, it needs to be seen that, here, if one kind of law is applied to people following different kinds of religion, it will not weaken the country but strengthen it. Moreover, it will promote communal harmony and brotherhood among people. This is also true which is why there is a mention of attempting for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Article 44 of the Constitution.”
However, the BSP chief clarified that though the UCC finds mention in the Constitution, “there is no provision of imposing it forcefully in Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution for which, awareness and general consent have been considered best”.
“Not following this, but resorting to politics of narrow self-interest is not in the interest of the country, which is what is being done at present. Because, Article 44 talks about attempting a Uniform Civil Code but not enforcing it, hence, the BJP should take any step for implementing the UCC only after taking these things into account,” she said.
She also highlighted that in a populous country like India, where people of different religions like Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis and Buddhists, live, it cannot be overlooked that they have different practices for different kinds of work, from birth to death along with different rules and customs and lifestyles.
Mayawati added that the country would benefit if the government shows compassion to crores of diligent and oppressed people and assists them in dealing with their problems due to inflation, poverty, unemployment and lack of basic amenities like education, health and happiness, peace and prosperity.
“It is important to pay attention to the problems mentioned by me which are troubling the people of the country, but the government is not paying attention here. This shows that the BJP government is reviving the issue of UCC to cover up their failures and divert the public’s attention from them,” she said.
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Ex-BJP ally SBSP backs UCC
Meanwhile, former NDA ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) also voiced support for the UCC with its president Om Prakash Rajbhar saying that one law was essential for everyone. SBSP currently has six MLAs in the UP assembly.
Speaking to his party’s office bearers and workers during their state-level meeting in Lucknow Sunday, Rajbhar asked that, if UCC can be implemented in Goa, why can it not be implemented in other states of the country?
He said that there should be one law for all citizens of the country and they will back whatever is in the interest of the country.
Confirming the party’s stand, its national spokesperson Arun Rajbhar also posted on Twitter that SBSP backs UCC, adding that those opposing it are only provoking the Muslims.
“Uniform Civil Code talks about implementing one law on all religious communities and earlier, even Supreme Court had issued directions to the central and all the state governments on this. And, in Article 44 of the Constitution too, all citizens of the country have been asked to attempt a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). Those who are opposing UCC are only instigating the Muslims,” he wrote.
सुहेलदेव भारतीय समाज पार्टी (सुभासपा) यूनिफॉर्म सिविल कोड (UCC) का समर्थन करती है। देशभर के सभी नागरिकों के लिए एक कानून होना चाहिए और जो कुछ भी देश हित में होगा सुभासपा उसका समर्थन करेगी। यदि गोवा में यूसीसी लागू है तो अन्य राज्यों में क्यों लागू नहीं हो सकता है? यूनिफॉर्म सिविल…
— Arun Rajbhar – अरुन राजभर (@ArunrajbharSbsp) July 2, 2023
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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