Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strong pitch for the contentious uniform civil code (UCC) appears to be deliberately timed, ahead of the elections, to divert public attention from the NDA government’s failures. The fact that he chose a party meeting in the poll-bound Madhya Pradesh to root for a common law provides a glimpse of the saffron party’s priorities in the run-up to the elections. Also, UCC is being pushed at a time when the BJP government in Manipur and at the Centre has come under fire for failing to control ethnic violence grappling the state for the last two months. Manipur is in utter chaos and day by day the situation is getting worse. The chaos in Manipur can impact the whole NE region.
Also, the push for a UCC could be a well-calculated ploy to wedge a divide among the non-BJP parties which are trying to overcome inherent contradictions in their efforts to forge a national alternative to take on the NDA in the next year’s general elections. Already, a number of BJP-ruled states – Goa, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh – have begun efforts to bring in the common civil code in their states. This is a political minefield which has to be navigated with dexterity, fairness and a spirit of consensus. Introducing a UCC would mean having a common code of personal laws for people of all religions, covering inheritance, marriage, divorce, child custody and alimony. At present, India’s personal laws are complex and varied, with each religion following its own specific regulations. A UCC is the last item among the core ideological agenda of the BJP that remains unaddressed, while the Ram temple in Ayodhya is well on its way and Article 370 stands abrogated. Modi’s aggressive push for a UCC comes close on the heels of the 22nd Law Commission inviting views from the general public and recognised religious organisations on the matter.