On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi argued strongly in favour of a unified civil code (UCC), questioning why a nation could have two distinct sets of laws. He also attacked the Opposition’s attempt to unite, branding them a group of dishonest politicians whom he vowed not to spare.
The BJP’s third primary ideological concern, after the Ram temple and Article 370, both of which the party has addressed, is the need for a uniform civil code. Modi seems to be attempting to divert attention from the important issues brought up by the Opposition by bringing up the code.
A day after returning from a six-day trip to the US and Egypt, Modi asked BJP chairman J.P. Nadda about the state of the nation as he addressed party members in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, which is headed for elections.
The stunning onslaught on the Opposition’s efforts to unite to challenge Modi in 2024, accusing the leaders of being a “guarantee of corruption”, revealed a mood of worry and unease among the BJP.
The Prime Minister offered a “Modi guarantee” to crack down on all “corrupt” Opposition members. “Agar unki ghotale ki guarantee hai, toh Modi ki bhi ek guarantee hai (If their guarantee is for corruption, then Modi also has a guarantee to offer),” he said, promising “har ghotalebaj par karyawahi ki guarantee” (guarantee of action against each of the corrupt)”.
Modi asked Muslims to recognise how they were being agitated and taken advantage of by the Opposition, citing a uniform civil code. He questioned why the neighbourhood remained behind despite years of governance by political parties that used them as vote pools.
“Bharat ke Musalman bhai behenon ko bhi ye samajhna hoga ki kaun se rajnaitik dal unhe bhadka karke unka faida lene ke liye unko barbad kar rahe hain. Aaj kal hum dekh rahe hain, uniform civil code ke mamle mein aise logon ko bhadkane ka kaam ho raha hai (Muslim brothers and sisters of India, too, willhave to understand which political parties are inciting them, taking advantage of them and destroying them. These days we can see that on the uniform civil code issue people are being provoked),” Modi said.
The Prime Minister was responding to a query from an Uttar Pradesh-based BJP member who wanted his advice on dispelling false information about the UCC following instant triple talaq.
“You tell me, can a family run if there is one law for one member and another for the others? Can it ever run? Then how can the country run with two rules?” Modi asked amid loud cries from party workers of “nahi chal payega (It won’t be able to run)”.
A uniform civil code is an issue that the home minister Amit Shah and some other ministers have been lobbying for, but this is the first time Modi has advocated so forcefully for the third divisive matter in the saffron basket. The party worker’s query seems to have been planned out in advance to allow Modi the chance to ruminate on it for a while. Modi commended the employee for raising the issue on the UCC.
He emphasised that the Constitution also mentions a single civil code and noted that the Supreme Court has frequently supported such a system.
“The Supreme Court has repeatedly said, the Supreme Court has called for a uniform civil code. But these vote bank-hungry people…,” Modi said, accusing the Opposition of engaging only in “appeasement” and “vote-bank” politics and not doing anything for the welfare of the minority community. Modi remained mute when asked whether his administration intended to introduce a law in Parliament before the Lok Sabha elections next year, despite the fact that he supported a UCC and emphasised a position the government has already made in an affidavit before the Supreme Court.
According to sources, a measure was not in the cards because there was not much time left before the elections, but leveraging the issue for political purposes was part of the plan. Modi taking up the cause of the community’s “pasmandas (backwards)” seemed to be an attempt to split Muslims along caste lines. The Pasmandas were shown in a negative light by the Prime Minister, who emphasised how they were viewed as “untouchables” in their own society.
“The pasmandas are not given equal rights even today. They are seen as lowly and untouchables,” Modi said and urged BJP workers to reach out to them.
Even though his administration has already outlawed immediate triple talaq, he was referring to it in this context. Considering that quick triple talaq is not implemented in Muslim-majority nations like Egypt, Indonesia, Qatar, Jordan, Syria, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, he questioned why it would be seen as an inherent aspect of Islam. He said that rapid triple talaq was outlawed 80–90 years ago in Egypt, where 90% of the population is Sunni Muslim.
A BJP member from Gujarat asked the following question, which was about the Patna unity gathering of the opposition parties. “Seems you are very angry with them (the opposition parties),” Modi said to the party official. He said, “Don’t be furious, feel sorry for them. But Modi’s response seemed to be spewing wrath.
“People and parties who used to call each other enemies, abuse each other, are now falling at each other’s feet,” Modi said, stressing that it was the result of their “helplessness” and “restlessness” because the BJP was set to return to power. Dubbing the Opposition parties a “guarantee for corruption”, Modi termed the Patna meeting a photo-op and went on to accuse the rival leaders of “ghotala” (corruption) of at least Rs 20 lakh crore.
“And the Congress’s corruption in this total is worth lakhs of crores,” he said, also taking the names of some other parties and mentioning the scams they were allegedly embroiled in.
“Aaj mai bhi ek guarantee dena chhahta hoon. De doon, de doon? (Today, I also want to give one guarantee. Should I, should I?)” Modi said. The party workers replied “yes” and chanted “Modi, Modi”.
“And my guarantee is to act against each of the corrupt, I guarantee to act against each of the thieves and looters. Those who have looted the poor, looted the country, will have to pay for it,” he added, as the workers roared and hailed him. According to Modi, the reason the Opposition was banding together was because they were being targeted by the law and were afraid of going to jail. He claimed that the opposition’s “CMP” (common minimum programme) was intended to prevent them from taking action.
