Drop uniform civil code, BJP Minority Morcha tells party

The decision, which may have major internal policy repercussions in the party, was announced on Wednesday, the inaugural day of the National Executive of the BJP Minority Morcha in Bangalore.

Introducing uniform civil code has been one of the major election issues of the BJP and it was kept on the back burner during the tenure of the BJP-led NDA government under pressure from the coalition parties. Time and again the party raised the issue to suit its political and electoral needs.

J K Jain, BJP Minority Morcha National Incharge, said: “It’s a dead issue. After extensive internal deliberations we have recommended to the party leaders that they drop the issue all together. The essence of India is in its harmony. Uniformity cannot work in a country as diverse as India.”

The Morcha’s recommendation also comes at a time when the country’s largest state Uttar Pradesh, which has a significant proportion of Muslim electorate, is going to polls early next year.

At the same time, the Minority morcha has endorsed the party’s stand that there should be no reservation on religious lines. Jain said reservation on religious grounds was against the very fabric of the Constitution of India. The UPA government had been raising the issue for narrow short-term political considerations, he alleged.

Jain claimed the BJP had been gaining confidence of the minorities by the day.

During the elections in three states - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab - next year, Jain said the party would field Muslim candidates.

Morcha National President Tanveer Ahmed said Muslims had prospered socially and economically in all BJP-ruled states in the country. Besides, there have been no instances of communal violence in these states. The Morcha has been going strong in the entire State and its workers will campaign extensively for the Bellary bypoll, he said.

Former Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson and BJP National Vice-President Najma Heptullah said after ruling  the country for five decades , the Congress has been stating that the situation of Muslims is pathetic.  “The Sachar Committee report has revealed who is  responsible for the backwardness of the minority community. The Muslims have realised that they have been betrayed by the Congress, who used them as a captive votebank”, she said.