The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) will initiate a campaign to muster the opinion of the secular forces against the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country.
A meeting of the party national executive held here on Friday took the decision to talk to all secular groups and to build up a strong bulwark against the UCC proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Briefing the media after the meeting, IUML national general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty said the Prime Minister had mooted the Uniform Civil Code with a clear objective of dividing the people ahead of the 2024 general elections.
“The Uniform Civil Code will affect not only Muslims, but many other communities, including tribals. They (BJP) are playing an election game. And we are sure that it will work against them,” said Mr. Kunhalikutty.
The IUML national executive passed a resolution saying that the Uniform Civil Code would be against the spirit of secularism, against the Constitution, and would destroy the country’s communal harmony.
With the objective of unifying the opinion against the Uniform Civil Code, the IUML will conduct national symposiums in Kerala and Delhi. The symposiums in Kerala will be held at Kozhikode and Kochi, when the one in Delhi will mark the valedictory of the party’s platinum jubilee celebrations.
“We will present the matter before the Law Commission as well. The Law Commission had, in 2018, rejected the proposal for the Uniform Civil Code saying that it was unnecessary and undesirable for the country,” said IUML national organising secretary E.T. Mohammed Basheer.
The meeting also decided to launch a national membership campaign beginning in the second week of July. The leaders said that it would most likely be from July 14 to October 16. The meeting in Delhi will be held on November 17, said Mr. Basheer.
All State presidents of the party attended the meeting held here on Friday. Presiding over the function, IUML national president K.M. Khader Mohideen said that all parties except the BJP were against the Uniform Civil Code in Tamil Nadu. “It is a BJP tactic to divide the people. The Prime Minister is creating confusion among the people ahead of the elections,” said Mr. Mohideen.
The meeting also raised concern at the growing unrest in Manipur. “Why is the Prime Minister mum about Manipur? Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took pains to visit Manipur. Our Prime Minister is silent about Manipur. Shame. Instead, he is trying to divide the people. The situation there is miserable,” said Mr. Kunhalikutty.
