BJP's UCC plan hits rough weather as North-East allies dig in their feet

With less than a week left for the crucial Monsoon session of Parliament to commence, the ruling BJP is facing trouble from its alliance partners, especially those in the North-East. Most of the allies have categorically conveyed to the Union government that they are not in favour of implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

Members of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have also conveyed to the BJP leadership that they expect the Union government to come out with a detailed presentation for them on UCC because there is little clarity on the issue.

Also read: Jamiat urges lawmakers to speak out against UCC in upcoming Parliament session

No draft bill

“We have opposed it. What is UCC? Why is there so much discussion about UCC? We think it is a mindless exercise,” a senior leader of the National People’s Party (NPP) in Meghalaya told The Federal. “There is only confusion about it because there is no draft bill and we only hear about it from the media. We believe that the implementation of UCC will affect the rights of the tribal people, so we are opposed to the idea. Our chief minister had a word with the BJP leaders, and our leadership has conveyed our resentment.”

Senior leaders of the NDA also point out that they want to know the steps that will be taken by the Union government to keep the tribal people of the North-East out of the UCC. Members of the NDA have also told the BJP leadership that if the ruling party chooses to bring the Bill to Parliament then, they will oppose it.

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Another crucial alliance partner of the NDA, the Mizo National Front (MNF), has also opposed the idea. “We are opposed to the implementation of UCC. It is against our customs and will interfere with our way of life. A lot tribal communities have their own customs that will be affected by UCC. We cannot accept it,” said a senior MNF leader in Mizoram.

Strong opposition

The BJP finds itself in a trouble, as apart from the NPP and NPF, its alliance partner in Nagaland, the National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) has also opposed the implementation of UCC in the region.

“What is UCC, and what is the government planning to do? We do not know what the government is planning, if the Bill will be tabled in the Monsoon Session or not. We are opposed to the idea, and this has been conveyed to the BJP leadership at the highest level,” said a senior leader of the NPF.

Also read: UCC a trick to divide people, will oppose Bill: Telangana CM KCR

Almost all the members of the NDA in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya have strongly opposed the idea. The NPP, which is one of the oldest alliance partners of the NDA, has been holding state executive meetings to oppose the UCC.

The NPP held a state executive meeting in Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday and has decided to oppose it across the north eastern states. “We are an independent political party, and we take our own decisions. We are part of the NDA, but we also have to protect the customs and traditions of the tribal people in the northeast,” the NPP leader added.

BJP on back foot

The situation in the North-East has put the BJP on the back foot because this is not the first time there have been problems within the NDA. During the assembly elections in Meghalaya, the BJP and NPP decided to contest independently, but the two parties came together in a post poll tie-up.

The ruling BJP is dependent on its alliance partners in the northeast for the Lok Sabha elections. The states of the northeast, including Assam, comprise of 25 Lok Sabha seats, and because of the tactical alliance with regional parties, the BJP-NDA combination has managed to win a majority of these seats. With the support of regional parties, the BJP has also managed to form governments in most of the northeast states.

“There are two problems before us. The first problem is the ongoing violence in Manipur, and the second issue is the implementation of UCC. We want the Union government to address the first problem immediately. The violence in Manipur cannot go on, it must be stopped immediately. We have told the Manipur government that if violence does not end, we will have to reconsider the alliance in the state. UCC is the second issue, and several state units in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Manipur have already rejected it,” said Yumnam Joykumar Singh, national vice-president of the NPP.

Also read: Kerala: Ally Congress not invited, IUML to skip Left seminar on UCC

The NDA is also facing difficulties with its alliance partners because of the ongoing violence in Manipur. Senior leaders of both the NPP and the NPF have said that the violence must end or else there will be “problems in the alliance”.

“The choice of the BJP is very clear. It has to decide if UCC will get them more votes or keeping the alliances intact in different states will help them win more seats in the northeast. If the BJP believes that it will benefit from the implementation of UCC, then it will move forward, or else it will choose the decision of its alliance partners,” said Sanjay Kumar, professor and co-director of Lokniti, a research programme at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS).