Nitish, Naidu unlikely to cheer Modi's yes to UCC, no to Muslim quotas

While the political wrangle over One Nation, One Election (ONOE) is still raging, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought the contentious topic of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to the centre stage.

Taking part in a discussion on Saturday (December 14) on ‘Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India’, Modi not only promised implementation of UCC but also categorically spoke against any religion-based reservation. The entire country must pledge that there will be no religion-based reservation, he added.

“The Union government is working hard for a secular UCC. The Supreme Court has often spoken in favour of a UCC and the architect of Constitution of India, BR Ambedkar, has also spoken about the implementation of UCC,” said the Prime Minister in his 100-minute-long speech in the Lok Sabha.

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Timing of push

The timing of the push for UCC is interesting because there are only two unfinished core electoral promises left for the ruling BJP. The first is the implementation of ONOE, and the second, UCC.

The other key promises — the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya and abrogation of Article 370, ending autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir — are already fulfilled.  

The ONOE legislation may be introduced in Parliament coming Monday or Tuesday, though there is little clarity yet on the nature of the Bills. The ongoing Winter Session of Parliament is scheduled to conclude next week, which doesn't leave the BJP government much time. 

Problem with NDA partners

While Modi has promised to bring in both UCC and no-religion-based reservation, the BJP's partners in the NDA are not on board with the idea.

The problem for the BJP is that it has talked often about the implementation of its core electoral promises but both Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) and N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP are in favour of more consultations and consensus on the UCC before it is rolled out. 

“The view of the JD(U) is absolutely clear on the issue of UCC," Neeraj Kumar, chief spokesperson of the JD(U), told The Federal. "We want greater consultations and consensus on the issue before it gets implemented. We want all political parties and all stakeholders to agree to the implementation of UCC first." 

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It may be noted that both JD(U) and TDP are already giving reservations to Muslims, in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, respectively.

“We are already giving reservations to Muslims under the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) category and even upper caste Muslims are getting benefits from the 10 per cent quota,” Kumar added.

Coalition compulsions

The BJP is dependent on the support of both JD(U) and TDP for the smooth functioning of the government. These two allies in turn enjoy the support of the Muslim community in their respective states, and would not want to annoy their voter base.

“The TDP is already providing the benefits of reservation to the Muslim community in Andhra Pradesh," Kalva Srinivasulu, former minister and polit bureau member of party, told The Federal. "It is not on the basis of religion but Muslims get reservation under the EBC quota. We will discuss the issue of UCC within the party first before making a statement,” he added.

The problem for the BJP does not end with the differences with the JD(U) and TDP. Most of the NDA partners from the North East have already told the BJP leadership and the Union government that they will not agree to UCC. If the Union government does want to go ahead with the decision, they would want the tribal communities kept out of its purview.

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Not just the North East, but the tribal communities of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are also not in support of UCC.

Targets Gandhi family

In the course of the speech, Modi squarely blamed the Nehru-Gandhi family for repeatedly 'undermining' the Constitution. Successive members of family, including former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, misused their powers to undermine the Constitution, he said.

He further accused Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi of systematically undermining the Constitution and asked the country to pledge against dynasty politics and social boycott of people involved in corruption.

During the two-day debate on 75 years of Constitution, the BJP leadership sought to project the Congress and the Gandhis as those who have undermined the Constitution. The BJP suffered significantly during the Lok Sabha polls because of the consistent campaign of the Congress-led INDIA bloc that BJP was planning to change the Constitution by striving for more than 400 seats in the Lok Sabha.