MUMBAI: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday accused the Maharashtra government of targeting Muslims under the guise of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). Owaisi said the BJP was, in fact, trying to impose a Hindu Civil Code on non-Hindus. However, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis defended the UCC, claiming that its implementation was a constitutional responsibility of State governments under the Directive Principles of State Policy.
Mr Owaisi, who was in Mumbai on Tuesday, said the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government had decided to implement the UCC to prevent Muslims from practising their religion.
He said marriage was considered a contract under Islam, but the proposed code sought to impose divorce provisions based on the Hindu Marriage Act. He alleged that the move was aimed at targeting Muslims and taking away their religious identity.
The AIMIM chief also termed the UCC a “Hindu Civil Code” and alleged that it was being imposed on non-Hindus.
He further alleged that there was a conspiracy to impose the Hindu Marriage Act and the Indian Succession Act on non-Hindus through the UCC.
Mr Owaisi said that when Article 35, which later became Article 44 of the Constitution, was being debated, Ismail Sahib and B. Pocker Sahib Bahadur had categorically argued that communities with their own personal laws should not be deprived of them. He further claimed that Dr B.R. Ambedkar had stated that the UCC would be applicable only to those who gave their consent in writing to follow it. “Is Devendra Fadnavis more intelligent than Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar?” he asked.
He also claimed that Mr Fadnavis was going against Dr Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution of India.
Hitting back at the AIMIM chief over his remarks, Mr Fadnavis, a senior BJP leader, said that while he might have differences with Owaisi, he considered him a highly intelligent person. The Constitution itself entrusts States with the responsibility of implementing a UCC. “Had Owaisi read the Constitution a little more carefully, he would not have alleged that the State government was acting beyond its constitutional limits,” the Chief Minister said.
It is pertinent to note that Article 44 of the Constitution of India, which is a Directive Principle of State Policy (DPSP), states: “The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.”
Amid the Congress-led agitation over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the senior BJP leader also targeted Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, alleging that he wanted to introduce in India a system similar to those prevailing in Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and some European countries. He said Rahul Gandhi wanted to bring an ultra-leftist system to the country. The BJP was therefore taking to the streets to expose the Congress and other Opposition parties, he added.
Mr Fadnavis asserted that the protests by the Opposition and the youth would have no impact.
Speaking informally to reporters at his official residence, Varsha, on Tuesday, on the occasion of Diwali, Mr Fadnavis alleged that the Opposition was conspiring to defame constitutional institutions and create distrust among people towards them. He said confusion was being deliberately spread to make people believe that institutions such as the Supreme Court, the Election Commission of India and Parliament could not deliver justice to them.
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