New Delhi: The renewed push for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is facing opposition from its allies in the northeast and members of the larger National Democratic Alliance (NDA).Following the Law Commission’s notification seeking public views afresh last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also made a strong push at a rally in Bhopal last week.While the BJP has focused its attention on opposition parties that have raised questions about its intentions calling it “election rhetoric,” and ridiculed the fate of opposition unity, here’s a look at how the party itself is also facing challenges to the NDA’s unity:MeghalayaIn Meghalaya, where the BJP is in alliance with the National People’s Party (NPP).Party supremo and chief minister Conrad Sangma told ANI on Saturday that the UCC is against the “actual idea of India.”“It (UCC) goes against the actual idea of India. India is a diverse nation and diversity is our strength,” he said.“Of course, we don’t know what will happen in the sense what kind of bill will come out, and if it does come out. Without seeing the actual content of a draft, and if it comes out, it will be difficult to go into the details. But as I said, from a basic concept and point of view, we are a matrilineal society and that is what our culture has been. That cannot be changed for us. ”#WATCH | Uniform Civil Code goes against the actual idea of India. India is a diverse nation and diversity is our strength. As a political party, we realise that the entire northeast has unique culture and we would want that to remain: Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma pic.twitter.com/KWD8Tbaqdj— ANI (@ANI) July 1, 2023“As a political party, we realise that the entire northeast has a unique culture and unique ways of society. We would want that to remain and not want that to be touched.”NagalandIn Nagaland, the BJP is facing opposition from its alliance partner the National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP).Currently, Nagaland chief minister Neiphu Rio is in New Delhi to personally convey to Union home minister Amit Shah that the UCC will not be acceptable to his party.Earlier, in a statement on June 29, the NDPP said that “as a political party whose very ideology is to protect the rights, customs and traditions of our people is opposed to the implementation of the UCC”.Stand of the Party with regard to UCC. pic.twitter.com/mRog8zhPRJ— NDPP (@NDPPofficial) June 29, 2023It added that Nagas have been ensured protection of their customary practices under Article 371(A) of the constitution and urged the Centre and the Law Commission to reconsider the matter.The party said that the Indo-Naga political dialogue is at a “crucial juncture” and it would be “unwise” to put in place a law such as UCC which will have “significant consequences on the talks.”“To introduce a new law that will have a deep impact upon the personal laws of the people will instead create further uncertainty and has the serious potential to threaten the peaceful environment”.MizoramIn Mizoram, where NDA ally Mizo National Front (MNF) is in power, a resolution was passed earlier this year by the state assembly opposing any attempt to implement a UCC.“This House unanimously resolved to oppose any steps taken or proposed to be taken for the enactment of UCC in India,” the resolution said, according to The Hindu.Home minister Lalchamliana had said while introducing the resolution that a UCC “would disintegrate the country as it was an attempt to terminate the religious or social practices, customary laws, cultures and traditions of the religious minorities, including the Mizos”.The state is slated to go to the polls at the end of this year.In 2018, now chief minister Pu Zoramthanga, who is also one of the founding members of the BJP’s North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), had ruled out a pre-poll alliance with the saffron party amid concerns regarding the BJP’s Hindutva agenda in the Christian majority state.Speaking to The Wire, Zoramthanga had said that the partnership with the NDA is only for parliamentary elections and not state elections.AssamAssam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma who is also the NEDA convenor has been pushing for the UCC to be implemented.“There are some people in India who thought they can marry four women. That was their thinking. But, I say you will not be able to do four marriages. Those days are going to come to an end. That day is not far. Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is going to come in India and time has also come to make India a true secular nation,” Sarma was quoted as saying by Press Trust of India in May.But the BJP’s alliance partner in the state, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) is yet to make its position clear.The Wire reached out to AGP president and state minister Atul Bora via phone but has not yet received a response.Earlier in 2019 Bora had also expressed his unhappiness when the NRC list was published and said: “The people of Assam had hoped for a free and fair NRC but it now seems that the very existence of the Assamese will be further threatened.”In January that year, the AGP pulled out of the alliance with the BJP in Assam over the Citizenship Amendment Bill but renewed the alliance ahead of the general elections.SikkimIn Sikkim, the BJP is in alliance with the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha. While the state government has not issued any statement on the UCC, the Joint Action Council (JAC) on Sunday held a day-long symposium attended by lawyers, political parties, intellectuals and civil society groups that passed a resolution against UCC.The resolution will be submitted to the Law Commission, according to a report in EastMojo.JAC Vice President Passang Sherpa lashed out at the state government’s silence and said that it was “mute, deaf and dumb.”HaryanaBJP’s alliance partner in Haryana the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) has not yet given a clear position on the UCC.Appearing in a discussion on CNN-News18, party spokesperson Prateek Som referred to the UCC as a “difficult question.”A difficult question is staring at our face that India being a secular state is promoting uniculturalism instead of multiculturalism. Hear my analysis on #UCC covering aspects of historical background, compulsions of constituent assembly after independence, Political… pic.twitter.com/7SvGBXzNSj— Prateek som (@Prateeksom2) June 17, 2023“A difficult question is staring at our face that India being a secular state is promoting uniculturalism instead of multiculturalism,” he said while referring to the Constituent Assembly debates.
