Samajwadi Party, the main opposition party in Uttar Pradesh, said it would vehemently oppose the move of the Narendra Modi government to bring uniform civil code (UCC) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The SP alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party was apparently preparing the ground for the communal polarisation of the electorate before the 2024 general election.
“The BJP wants to bring the UCC in order to polarise voters on religious lines and keep the tide in its favour. The SP will strongly oppose the move to implement the UCC. The BJP deliberately rakes up such issues to create a rift in society,” SP president Akhilesh Yadav said.
He said the SP follows the politics of harmony, politics of socialising with each other which 'Netaji' (SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav) taught. “The SP will never support such a bill and will strongly oppose it,” he added.
Akhilesh Yadav is in an upbeat mood after his party won the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll and his alliance partner Rashtriya Lok Dal trounced the BJP in the Khatauli assembly bypoll in Muzaffarnagar district.
A senior SP leader said that in order to retain its M-Y (Muslim-Yadav) vote bank, the party would strongly oppose the UCC which, in any case, "is BJP's yet another tool against minorities, mainly Muslims".
The SP knows that at present other political outfits in the state are not in a position to take on the BJP and the SP alone can put up a spirited fight on the issue.
SP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said: "India is a country that is known for its diversity of traditions and cultures. We are known for bringing unity in this diversity. The uniform civil code goes against the unifying concept of diversity."
"The UCC is a directive principle. One fails to understand that when the present government is crushing fundamental rights, why the government puts much emphasis on implementing Article 44 of the Constitution which is not even justiciable", he said.
He added that the SP felt that it was unfair to impose laws and practices of the majority community over tribals, minorities and disadvantaged sections.
"Our Constitution currently allows protection to the traditions and cultures of north-eastern states; this would be difficult in UCC and lastly, for the current dispensation, UCC is a tool for polarisation," Chaudhary said.
Moreover, he said, why make uniform civil laws when even criminal laws are also not same, as there were state specific amendments resulting in different laws for different states.
The SP is gearing up to put up a spirited fight against the BJP on the issue, as and when the government brings in the bill. Another SP leader said: "We believe that not all Hindus will support UCC because a large section of the majority community is in favour of maintaining a status quo and allowing every person his or her personal choice of religion."
Other parties, including the Bahujan Samaj Party, meanwhile, are maintaining a studied silence on the issue which is working in favour of the SP and it hopes to get minority support in the general election.