Thiruvananthapuram: The verbal duel between the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and the opposition Congress over the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) got heated on Thursday with each accusing the other of not having a clear stand on the issue.
During the day, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief and MP K Sudhakaran and Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan attacked the Left party by saying it was “opportunistic” and was trying to gain politically from the issue.
The Congress leaders also said that if the CPI(M) was sincerely opposed to the UCC, it should reject the stand taken by its former leader and first Kerala CM E M S Namboodiripad who had called for a common personal law for all citizens.
In the face of these allegations, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hit back at the Congress, questioning its stance on the issue.
“Does the @INCIndia have a clear stand on the #UniformCivilCode? Their suspicious silence is deceitful. When it is the need of the hour to resist the Sangh Parivar’s attacks on India’s plurality, is the INC ready to take a firm stand against them,” he asked in a tweet.
Additionally, in a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), Vijayan said that instead of clearly articulating their position on issues like the UCC, the Congress was “resorting to its tried-and-true tactic” of throwing insults at the CPI(M).
“Does the Congress have a clear position and policy on it at the national level? If so, what is it?
“Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh, who is also a Minister in the Himachal Pradesh cabinet, has welcomed the Uniform Civil Code. Is that the official stand of the Congress,” the CM asked.
This query was also raised by reporters during a press conference held in Thiruvananthapuram by Sudhakaran, to which the KPCC chief replied that the stand taken by the national leadership was the correct one.
He said that the party would decide what has to be done with regard to those indicating a stand contrary to that of the national leadership on the UCC issue.
Sudhakaran also said that the Congress was strongly opposing the UCC and would be holding public events at Kozhikode, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram to oppose the Uniform Civil Code.
He said that if the UCC is implemented, it would destroy the nation as the unity among the people would be lost.
The KPCC chief alleged that the BJP only wants to divide the people through the UCC and the CPI(M) in Kerala was doing the same by turning it into a Muslim only issue and trying to “create communal polarisation” in the state.
“The CPI(M) is opportunistic. They are trying to make political gains out of it,” he further alleged.
Satheesan too spoke along similar lines at Kozhikode where he alleged that the CPI(M) was coming out with the same “communal agenda” as the BJP.
He also said that the Congress, right from the beginning, had clearly stated that it was opposed to the UCC and there has been no change in that stand.
Satheesan challenged the CPI(M) and its state secretary M V Govindan to openly reject the stand taken by Namboodiripad on the UCC decades ago.
Later in the day, Vijayan came out with his statement and tweet hitting back at the Congress.
He said that apart from opposing the BJP in electoral politics, the Congress “was reluctant to stand against the Sangh Parivar on issues affecting the integrity of our country”.
“In effect, the Congress is supporting the anti-democratic ordinance brought by the Centre to overturn the Supreme Court’s verdict favouring the Delhi state government.
“This ordinance makes clear that the Sangh Parivar is willing to subvert constitutional principles to push its vested interests,” the Kerala CM said.
He also alleged that the Delhi and Punjab state units of the Congress decided to stand against the Delhi state government.
Even the grand old party’s national leadership too has not taken a stance in support of the Aam Aadmi Party’s government in Delhi, he claimed.
“The Congress is having this same dishonest stance on the UCC,” Vijayan contended.
A political debate was kicked off in the state over the UCC after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, last week, made a strong push for implementing the UCC by asking how the country can function with dual laws that govern personal matters.
He had advocated for the UCC while addressing BJP workers in Bhopal in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh.
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