Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday alleged that the "electoral agenda" of the BJP is behind raking up the issue of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and urged the Central government to withdraw from the move to impose it.
In a statement, Vijayan, who is also a senior leader of the CPI(M), said the Centre's move can only be seen as a plan to implement the "majority communal agenda of 'one nation, one culture' by wiping out the cultural diversity of the country". "The Central Government and the Law Commission should withdraw from the move to impose the Uniform Civil Code," he said.
The chief minister said rather than imposing a UCC, efforts should be made to reform and amend discriminatory practices within personal laws, and the support of all parties concerned should be sought for this.
"Triggering debates around Uniform Civil Code is an electoral ploy by Sangh Parivar to press their majoritarian agenda for deepening communal divide. Let's oppose any attempts to undermine India's pluralism and support reforms through democratic discussions within communities," the chief minister said in a tweet later.
Vijayan, in his statement, said reform movements in any religion have arisen from within them, and this is not an issue that can be resolved by a quick executive decision. Stating that the previous Law Commission in 2018 had opined that a Uniform Civil Code was "neither necessary nor desirable" at this stage, Vijayan, also a politburo member of the CPI(M), said the proponents of the new move should first explain how the situation to deviate from that position suddenly arose.
He said the uniqueness of India is that it embraces diversity and differences and does not efface plurality to bring in uniformity. What is needed is to reform personal laws in tune with the times, and not unify them based on a specific agenda, the chief minister added. Vijayan's statement came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushed for the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code in the country and said Muslims are being instigated over the sensitive issue.
Addressing a gathering of party workers in Bhopal on June 27, the Prime Minister said even the Supreme Court has advocated for a Uniform Civil Code, but those practising vote bank politics are opposing it. He also asked how the country can have two systems, touching upon an issue closely identified with the BJP with less than a year left for the Lok Sabha polls. (PTI)
