Every reform and law by the Modi government that benefits the citizens has been opposed tooth and nail by pseud-secular politicians. They have fearmongered about reforms from CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) to UCC (Uniform Civil Code) by spreading canards about these.

Parties oppose UCC reform by harping on ‘minority’ rights

Congress-ally DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) currently the ruling party in Tamil Nadu (TN) opposed UCC saying it would have a ‘disastrous’ effect on the ‘secular ethos’ of the country. “One law for the lion and ox is oppression. Each religion has evolved its unique, distinct custom and tradition over centuries of practice, in keeping with their beliefs and religious texts. To upset them with brute force is nothing short of tyranny and oppression, and must not be committed by the State, which acts as parens patriae”, reads a letter from DMK leader General Secretary Durai Murugan.

DMK has also alleged that the reform contradicts Article 25 (freedom of religion) and Article 29 (rights of minorities) of the Constitution. According to Murugan, the law would intrude into the legislative powers of the state.

“There is ‘no distinct, clear or apparent purpose’ to imposing a UCC for personal laws, other than to ‘eliminate the uniqueness’ of the minorities-not only the minority religions but also the minority sub-sects within the majority religions. BJP is ‘obsessed’ with the ‘one nation, one language, one culture’ ideology that has spilt over into the proposal for implementing a common civil code”, Murugan said. While dissing UCC, the DMK leader wants the centre to implement a ‘uniform caste code’.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has also raised objections to the reform. AIMPLB spokesperson Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas stated that AIMPLB’s guidelines originated from the Quran, and even Muslims are not permitted to alter them. “He asserted that other faiths in the nation have similar worries and cautioned the administration against the same. More importantly, he threatened to incite riots across the country if the law ever comes into effect”, noted OpIndia.

“The proposed Code is about the uniformity of justice, and not about rites and rituals of family ceremonies. It’s about recognising women as equal to men, and a uniform law to protect her rights in marriage, divorce and inheritance…disregarding the fact that most Muslim countries have reformed their family laws according to modern standards, the AIMPLB has been resisting Indian Parliament’s right to reform MPL or bring UCC”, writes Ibn Khaldun Bharati who believes UCC will not only reform the Muslim Personal Law (MPL) but also reform Muslim community by pulling Muslims from the margins of separatism into the mainstream of nationalism.

All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) leader Badruddin Ajmal had a different take on the reform. “A debate has been sparked off over Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The bill will be tabled before the Parliament soon…After UCC is implemented, we will start wearing saree and you also do the same…Men and women both need to wear saree. When UCC comes into force, everyone will have to wear a saree. We will maintain a long beard for a year and you too do the same for a year. Uniformity, right?” he asked while speaking on the issue on July 14 in Assam’s Dhubri District.  

UCC aims at bringing a common set of laws for all Bharatiya citizens in matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption. While the key idea behind UCC is to bring all communities under common laws, parties opposing it are repeatedly alleging that the reform meddles with the religious rights of minorities.

Fearmongering during CAA reforms

Readers might recall the opposition had indulged in similar fearmongering during CAA reform. CAA was merely meant to fast-track Bharatiya citizenship for persecuted non-Muslim religious minorities (mainly Hindus and Sikhs) minorities from the neighbouring Islamic nations Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. However, after the Act was passed, Islamists such as Sharjeel Imam incited Muslim mobs through their inflammatory speeches.

In the anti-CAA riots, Hindus were systematically targeted by the rioters led by AAP councillor Tahir Hussain. Bollywood entertainers like Deepika Padukone also lent their voices to the anti-CAA protests at JNU. Radio Mirchi RJs Sayema and Fahad also stoked violence by spreading propaganda.

Congress ally DMK’s Dayanidhi Maran was among those rumour-mongering. He said like how 500 and 1000 rupees notes were made invalid overnight through demonetization, the citizenship of all citizens has been cancelled and we will now have to present documents to prove that we are Indians. From Congress to TMC everyone was up in arms against CAA with violence witnessed at several places in the name of protests with Lutyens Media providing coverfire to the rioters.

HinduPost had previously highlighted how there was unreasonable fearmongering not just about CAA but also about NRC (National Register of Citizens) whose draft is not even ready. The single point at that time was the rights of minorities (read Muslims). In other words, the parties opposing reforms talk about non-existent majoritarianism.

Opposition to other reforms

After CAA, farm laws that were subsequently repealed were a set of reforms regarding which all kinds of lies were spread by the opposition. Farmers were told Modi was ‘selling’ them to the corporates. Rich farm lobby aided by the Arhityas in cahoots with the opposition spread the lie that corporates would take over the purchase of the produce at their cost.

DMK chief MK Stalin had repeatedly lied during election rallies that farm law reforms would snatch the right to farming from small-time farmers. “Farmers will not be allowed to carry out farming in their fields. Even if they are allowed to farm then they won’t be able to sell the produce at a price they want. Farmers’ markets or mandis will be shut down totally. It is going to be transferred into the hands of private players like Adani”, he said.

“When the farm ordinances first came out in June 2020, farmers across Bharat were optimistic that at least some of their annual losses from market restrictions would ease. While the farm laws did not address the bulk of the harms imposed by governments on farmers, they would have allowed a little more market choice. But the socialists and communists, who said that these laws will lead to the abolition of the minimum support price (MSP), were able to influence some farmers. Farm laws had said nothing about MSPs”, wrote Anil Ghanwat (President of Swatantra Bharat Party and senior leader of Shetkari Sangathana).

Despite the committee recommending that the reforms should not be repealed, the Modi government went ahead and repealed them probably under pressure. Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAM) which supported the protestors against the farm law reforms was itself faced with farmer protests in AAP-ruled Punjab last December. The other parties that opposed the reforms were Congress, JD(S), NCP, Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena, JMM, JKPA, Samajwadi Party, RJD, DMK, CPI, and CPI(M).

The abrogation of Article 370 elicited a similar response from the opposition. Following the abrogation, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh responded to a question asked by a journalist saying the democratic process was not followed while Article 370 was abrogated from Kashmir, and the party may reconsider this issue.

Saravanan, a lawyer & spokesperson of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) – an ally of Congress, declared on a national channel during a prime-time debate that “Jammu & Kashmir has never been a part of India”. 

Despite all the opposition, the abrogation of Article 370 was a reform that was much-needed to integrate Jammu and Kashmir with Bharat and give Ladakh a chance to progress. Abrogation of Article 370 dealt a severe blow to the entrenched system of corruption and led to 890 central laws becoming applicable in Jammu and Kashmir. The decision dismantled the nexus of officials and politicians, who thrived on their authority and connections and operated within their own ‘Samrajya’ (kingdom). The reform has helped both the union territories.

The sole aim of secular politicians is to peddle lies every time the Modi government comes up with reform.