Opposition attacks Shah's UCC plan as JD(U) voices concern

New Delhi, Sep 14 (PTI) Opposition parties on Monday hit out at Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks that the Uniform Civil Code would be introduced in all states with NDA governments before the 2029 general election, accusing the BJP of using it for communal and majoritarian politics, while there were also murmurs from its ally JD(U).

The DMK, CPI(M) and AIMIM said they would oppose the move, even as the working president of NDA constituent Janata Dal (United), Sanjay Jha, said his party leaders will soon meet Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss the issue of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state.

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai on Sunday, Shah said, "Triple talaq has been abolished, giving Muslim women equal rights. We have introduced UCC in several states, and I am confident that in the 21 BJP-NDA-ruled states, we will introduce the UCC before 2029."

"We will soon meet Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss the issue,” Jha told PTI when asked about Shah's assertion.

With 12 Lok Sabha MPs, the JD(U) is a key constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) that lends support to the Narendra Modi-led government.

The Nitish Kumar-led party also shares power with the BJP in Bihar.

Reacting to Amit Shah's announcement on UCC, the CPI(M) contended that uniformity did not necessarily amount to equality and said the move reflected the BJP's political intent ahead of the next Lok Sabha election.

"Amit Shah's announcement that the UCC will be imposed across all 21 NDA-ruled states before 2029 makes the political intent unmistakable. This was never about women's rights. The BJP is weaponising a complex question of equal rights and turning it into an instrument of communal and majoritarian politics to consolidate its Hindutva vote bank ahead of the next Lok Sabha election," the party said in a post on X.

The Left party accused the BJP of shifting attention away from issues such as unemployment and price rise.

"Rather than confront pressing issues like unemployment, price rise, agrarian distress, and students' concerns, BJP's priority is to engineer yet another divisive campaign", it alleged.

The CPI(M) said it opposes the move and will "resist it at every step".

DMK leader T K S Elangovan also hit out at Shah over his assertion on UCC implementation , calling the move "unconstitutional".

Elangovan argues that bringing the UCC in BJP-governed states violates the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.

"That is against the Constitution of India. They cannot bring it because Constitution Article 25 says that any Indian has every right under fundamental rights to follow, preach, and practice any religion.

"What Amit Shah is talking about is against the Constitution. This is absolutely wrong," he said.

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi took strong exception to Shah's remarks and alleged that the saffron party wanted to target Muslims.

"UCC is not being introduced by the BJP for equality. The BJP has brought in the UCC in states where it is in power only to target India's 180 million Muslims.

"This is against Article 25, which guarantees freedom of religion, Article 14, which guarantees the right to equality, Article 26 and Article 29 of the Constitution," Owaisi said.

He said those who could not stop the alleged theft at the Ram temple in Ayodhya were talking about the UCC and NRC.

Observing that the "soul" of the country was its pluralism, Owaisi claimed that a UCC would amount to imposing Hindu law on non-Hindus.

Senior JD(U) leader and former minister Shyam Rajak also asserted that the party was opposed to implementation of the UCC in Bihar, even though it had "supported the UCC Bill" in Parliament.

"Our stand on the issue was made clear by our leader Nitish Kumar way back. He had said that although our party was supporting the UCC Bill in the Parliament, it was not in favour of implementing the same in Bihar," Rajak said in Patna.

"The chief minister may be of the BJP, but the government is being run with the help of allies... our stand is clear, the question of implementing UCC in Bihar does not arise," he said.

Uttarakhand became the first state in independent India to enact a comprehensive UCC, with the law coming into force in January 2025. The state law covers marriage, divorce, succession and live-in relationships, among other matters.

Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa have also passed laws to implement the Uniform Civil Code in their states. Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal have also set up drafting committees for bringing in the legislation.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state government will implement the UCC once the committee preparing the draft submits its report. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha has said that the BJP-ruled state is ready to implement the UCC if the Centre issues a direction in this regard.

Meanwhile, the Vishva Hindu Parishad welcomed the Home Minister's statement on UCC, saying it will prove to be a “milestone” in eliminating gender inequality and discrimination.