Implementation of UCC is Modi’s guarantee, says Shah

Bhopal: Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday said that the BJP will never allow the Congress to reintroduce Muslim Personal Law and pledged to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country, terming it a guarantee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing a rally in Piprai in Ashok Nagar district falling under Guna Lok Sabha constituency from where Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia is seeking election, Mr Shah accused the Congress of conspiring to impose Sharia (Islamic law) in the country through backdoors by implementing Muslim Personal Law and asserted that the BJP will foil any such attempts by the Congress.

“Read the Congress manifesto carefully. They have said that they will reintroduce personal law... They want to bring back Muslim Personal Law. They want to bring back Triple Talaq... Can this country be run by Sharia?” Mr Shah asked.

The Union minister further said that “Rahul Baba (referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi), you can do whatever you want for appeasement. As long as the BJP is there, it will not allow personal laws. It is the BJP’s promise and Modi Ji's guarantee that we will enforce the UCC in the entire country, as we have done in Uttarakhand.”

Highlighting the achievements of the Modi government, Mr Shah said that Mr Modi scrapped Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019 "in one stroke".

“In 2019, Article 370 was abrogated by the Modi government in just one stroke. Rahul Baba was scared and predicted rivers of blood will flow... But, Rahul Baba, this is not the Congress government. It's the Modi government. Leave aside rivers of flood; not even a stone was hurled (in Kashmir) in the last five years,” he said.

Mr Shah said that the Modi government has combated terrorism and Naxalism in the country.

Attacking the Congress for providing reservations on the basis of religion (in Karnataka) to appease its votebank, Mr Shah called the grand old party anti-OBC.

"The decision to provide reservations on the basis of religion by the Congress will hurt the interests of OBC, SC, ST and the downtrodden," he said.

“For the Congress, Muslims have the first right over the country's resources. But, for the BJP, the poor, dalits, OBC and tribals have the first right over them,” he said, adding that the Congress sat on the Mandal Commission report that recommended reservation for OBC for years without implementing it.

At the rally, Mr Shah detailed how the Congress used to create hurdles in the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and said, “Within five years, the Modi government laid the foundation of the temple and also held the consecration ceremony. Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Mr Gandhi were invited to the occasion, but they refused to attend.”

Mr Shah appealed to the people to ensure the victory of Mr Scindia in Guna, saying "every vote of yours for Mr Scindia also goes to Mr Modi".

Guna LS seat is considered a stronghold of the Gwalior royal family of Scindia. Mr Scindia has been elected from Guna four times since 2002 and lost the seat to the BJP's K.P. Yadav in the 2019 LS polls by contesting as a Congress candidate.

However, Mr Scindia quit the Congress and joined the BJP in 2020. He is seeking election from the seat as a BJP candidate. Before him, his father Madhavrao Scindia and grandmother Vijayaraje Scindia were also elected from the constituency.

The Lok Sabha constituency has a sizable population of Yadavs. In a bid to placate the community, Mr Shah indicated that Mr Yadav’s interests will be taken care of.

During the day, Mr Shah also addressed an election rally in Khilchipur under the Rajgarh parliamentary constituency, where Congress veteran and former chief minister Digvijay Singh is pitted against sitting MP Rodmal Nagar of the BJP.