PM Modi makes strong pitch for uniform civil code; asks how can country function with two laws

PTI, Jun 27, 2023, 4:33 PM IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made a strong pitch for the uniform civil code (UCC), saying the Constitution also mentions of having equal rights for all citizens.

Addressing a gathering of party workers here, Modi also said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided it would not adopt the path of appeasement and vote bank politics.

Modi said the opposition is using the issue of UCC to mislead and provoke the Muslim community.

“You tell me, in a home, how can there be one law for one member and another law for another member?” Modi said.

“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) in the interests of Muslims, then Muslim families would not have been lagging in education and jobs,” he said.

The policy of appeasement practised by some is ”disastrous” for the country, Modi said during his visit to Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, where the Assembly polls are due this year-end.

Modi said that Pasmanda Muslims, who are backward, are not even treated as equal because of the vote bank politics.

‘Pasmanda’, a term for backward classes among Muslims, often finds a mention in Prime Minister Modi’s speeches, at party forum as well as government events, and how the government has worked for the deprived without any discrimination.

Modi said that in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, South India, especially in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, and a number of other states, many castes were left behind from development because of the policy of appeasement.

He also said those supporting triple talaq were doing grave injustice to Muslim daughters.

Triple talaq was abolished in Egypt 80-90 years ago. If it is necessary, then why has it been abolished in Pakistan, Qatar and other Muslim-dominated nations, the prime minister said.

“Triple talaq doesn’t just do injustice to daughters…entire families get ruined. If triple talaq is an essential part of Islam, then why was it banned in countries like Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia?” Modi asked.