UCC proposal a ploy to divert attention from critical issues, says Asaduddin Owaisi

Hyderabad: Asaduddin Owaisi, the chief of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Friday strongly condemned the proposal put forward by the NDA government at the Centre to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

The chief of AIMIM argued that the discussions surrounding the UCC are merely a ploy to divert public attention from critical issues such as poverty, unemployment, price rise, and China’s intrusion.

Speaking at a press conference, Owaisi expressed his intention to seek support from Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and rally his party’s opposition against the UCC if any related bill is introduced in the Parliament.

Dubbing the Law Commission’s request for public opinions on the UCC a political exercise to divert the attention of the public from important issues, Owaisi questioned the veracity of the Centre’s move of bringing the issue forward before elections. He also said AIMIM has sent its opinion on the subject along with retired supreme court judge Gopala Gowda’s legal opinion to the Law Commission.

“Our belief is that this political exercise is to impose an unnecessary ‘mahol’ (atmosphere) in the country before Lok Sabha elections so that the public attention is diverted from issues such as poverty, unemployment, price rise, and China which has occupied our land,” he said.

“This is not a coincidence that exactly after five years the Law Commission is again undertaking this exercise. Like clockwork, five or six months before the general elections BJP raises this issue. The aim is to vitiate the atmosphere and polarise the electorate so that they reap political gains in the coming 2024 elections,” he said.

On the Uttarakhand government’s decision to implement UCC in the northern state, he said, citing Justice Gopala Gowda’s legal opinion, it is not sustainable in law.

The response submitted to the Law Commission by the MIM party questioned if UCC will or will not violate some provisions of the Constitution of India, and if exceptions may be created for certain groups then what shall be the basis of such exceptions?

The party sought that the Law Commission clarify doubts and address issues in the response in order to have a comprehensive national debate on the same.

Inputs from PTI