New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) Following the West Bengal BJP government’s decision to introduce the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill in the state Assembly on Monday, All India Muslim Jamaat’s Maulana Shahabuddin and the Trinamool Congress opposed the move, saying the proposed law cannot be implemented until it is accepted by the Muslim community.

Talking to IANS, President of All India Muslim Jamaat Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Bareilvi called UCC “against the Constitution”.

“The Constitution says that the UCC can be implemented only after all communities agree to it. But in whichever states UCC has been implemented so far, it is one-sided,” he said.

He alleged it is being implemented to “target the Muslims”.

“But the members of the community will keep following the Shariat law; no one can stop them,” the Muslim cleric said.

Echoing similar views, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said: “We are opposed to it. One reason is that late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had assured the Muslim community that the Uniform Civil Code would not be implemented until the community accepted it.”

He added: “Under Article 44 of Directive Principles of State Policy, it says ‘the state shall endeavour’, meaning the state can keep on attempting, but it (UCC) has been suddenly brought in.”

“UCC is the BJP’s communal agenda. It is an authoritarian party,” he alleged.

CPI-M MP Hannan Mollah remarked: “The RSS had decided nearly a century ago that Muslims were the enemies of India. According to them, Muslims had to be destroyed in every way — their religion, employment, place of residence and education, and reduced to second-class citizens.”

Targeting the BJP, he said: “If a government that follows the RSS does not implement its agenda, then who will? Everyone knows they will implement it. And it is the Muslim community that will continue to suffer. They are already facing hardships and will face more. Under this regime, there is no hope for the poor or for minorities.”

However, BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal said: “UCC is a commitment of our government and the NDA. Until UCC is implemented, every person as a citizen will remain deprived of the right to equality.”

“UCC will soon be introduced in West Bengal. I congratulate West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari for it,” he told IANS.

–IANS

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