Dismissing allegations of lack of clarity on the part of the Congress party regarding the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has said that the party is vehemently opposed to it. Speaking to mediapersons on Sunday, he said the UCC was being raked up in an election year to divide people along religious lines and reap electoral dividends.
“The Congress has no ambiguity regarding the UCC. Senior leader Jairam Ramesh had clearly stated the party’s stand as soon as this issue came back to the limelight. The Law Commission had said in 2018 that the UCC should not be implemented under any circumstances. The Congress also has the same position. The UCC is not practical as there are several tribes and communities within each religion, including Hinduism, with their own cultural background and traditions,” he said.
‘Not Hindu-Muslim issue’
Mr. Satheesan cautioned against viewing UCC as a Hindu-Muslim issue, as even within each religion it was impractical to impose uniformity. Certain sections were attempting to treat it as a Hindu-Muslim issue to create divisions within society.
Referring to the ongoing situation in Manipur, he said that the recent claim that Christians were shifting allegiance in large numbers to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had fizzled out.
“When churches and people were being attacked, only Rahul Gandhi went out on the streets to be with them. The Prime Minister has not yet uttered a word. The Congress is trying to unite everyone, not to divide,” he said.
Mr. Satheesan demanded that the State government reveal the details of an order that it had issued allowing the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-Operative Society (ULCCS) to collect personal details of everyone in the State through local bodies. The government should not compromise on the data security of lakhs of people and ensure that it is not misused by third parties.
Probe sought
He also demanded an investigation into the allegations raised by G. Sakthidharan, former Associate Editor of CPI(M)‘s newspaper Deshabhimani, who was expelled from the party in 2004, that a top party leader had taken around ₹2.5 crore wrapped in reed mats from Kaloor to Thiruvananthapuram on a car, as well as on the allegation that attempts were made on the life of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K. Sudhakaran.
