New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) The Congress and Shiv Sena-UBT on Friday urged the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra to include the opposition in discussions over the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and also urged the state government to make the UCC draft public.

The reactions came after the Maharashtra government constituted a high-level committee to draft the framework towards implementation of the UCC in the state.

Congress leader Husain Dalwai told IANS that he has no opposition to the UCC.

“I have been saying from the beginning that keeping more than one wife is completely wrong. It is an injustice to women. No religion has said that it is right to be unjust to women. Give women full respect, give them equal rights in property as well,” he said.

However, Dalwai urged the government to make the UCC draft public, “so that people can give their opinions on it”.

A day before, Shiv Sena-UBT spokesperson Anand Dubey echoed a similar view, saying: “No one is opposing the UCC; it should be implemented. There should be a uniform law applicable to individuals of all religions in this country, whether it concerns divorce or dowry, these matters should be covered by the UCC.”

However, he asked: “Will we get to see the draft of the UCC? Will the draft be discussed? Will the opposition parties be taken into confidence, or will dictatorship prevail?”

Meanwhile, Congress MP Jebi Mather accused the BJP-led governments of attempting to “kill” the country’s unity in diversity.

“Wherever there is a double-engine government, they are either engaged in changing the names of roads or buildings, or they are pushing for the implementation of the UCC. This is their fixed agenda. They do not want the unity in diversity of our country. They do not want to respect the beliefs of different religions. Every religion has its own rules and traditions, and the Constitution guarantees that such practices can continue within the framework of the legal system. However, they want to put an end to all of this. We are shifting towards a very dictatorial tendency,” she told IANS.

However, the BJP backed the decision of the Maharashtra government while accusing the Congress of favouring its vote bank.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said: “The same Congress party which had advocated for the UCC in the Constituent Assembly, is today opposing its implementation by prioritising their vote bank over women.”

He labelled the party as “anti-women ecosystem”.

JD-U chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar maintained that everyone should be taken into confidence regarding the UCC “because social harmony is the foundation of development”.

“Our party has a clear stand on the Uniform Civil Code. No section of society should feel hurt. Social harmony must be maintained. However, the state government has the authority to take its own decisions,” he told IANS.

–IANS

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