AIMIM is opposed to Uniform Civil Code, says party chief Owaisi

AIMIM chief and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi said here on Saturday that his party is against the Uniform Civil Code. Regarding efforts to forge unity among opposition parties, Owaisi said, "If you (opposition parties) want to defeat BJP then you have to show the difference that you will not follow the agenda set by BJP. They (opposition parties) are a club of big 'Chaudharis'."

The AIMIM chief expressed disappointment that Telangana CM K. Chandrashekar Rao was not invited to the meeting of opposition parties. He said, "They have not invited our Telangana CM to the meeting. He is not an ordinary person but a major player in politics." Earlier today, Owaisi called UCC a political exercise aimed to divert the course of the debate away from key issues like poverty, unemployment and inflation.

Owaisi's response came while addressing media at Hyderabad on Friday as he submitted the party's response to the Law Commission along with the retired judge Gopala Gowda. Owaisi stated that "While the present notification of the 22nd Law Commission dated June 14, 2023, has solicited views and ideas on the issue of a Uniform Civil Code, however, the notification of the Law Commission does not put forth any proposal for comment, but merely refers back to the prior notifications of the 21st Law Commission."

"It is no mere coincidence that it is almost exactly 5 years since the last exercise was undertaken by the Law Commission to examine the subject of a 'Uniform Civil Code'. Like clockwork, every time general elections are a few months away, the government led by the Bhartiya Janata Party rakes up the issue of UCC and tries to vitiate the atmosphere and polarise the electorate in the run-up to the elections," he said. He stated that Justice Chauhan who chaired the 21st Law Commission after the Consultation Paper specifically stated that "a uniform civil code is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage.

Owaisi said, "The present exercise has no constitutional basis, it is merely a political exercise aimed at sparking a public debate on a sensitive issue in the run-up to the Lok Sabha Elections to take the focus of the debate away from poverty, unemployment, inflation and other issues facing the country." He added that the UCC would obliterate diverse customs. He said the tribals in different parts of the country were already opposing the UCC. He challenged Prime Minister Modi and said, "Let the PM come to Adilabad in Telangana and tell the Gond community about the implementation of the UCC".

Owaisi also dared the Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to remove the uniform civil laws there, and the BJP to inform the tribals of the northeastern states of the UCC exercise. Owaisi also dared the Assam CM who is about to bring a bill to ban polygamy to implement it in Assam. He also hit out at Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan over his remarks on the UCC. He said, "As a Governor, he should not be showering praises on a Government. He should resign as Governor and officially join BJP."

Targeting the Congress he said, "If the Congress is not clear about UCC, then it is giving a good message to the country that it is not clear. It is giving a good message to the tribals that it is not clear and it itself is in confusion."