'Are you going to snatch away pluralism in name of UCC,' Owaisi slams PM

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for favouring a Uniform Civil Code, alleging that he wants to target Muslims and bring in a 'Hindu Civil Code'.

He also hit out at the Prime Minister over his remarks in Madhya Pradesh on Triple Talaq and Pasmanda Muslims.

"India's Prime Minister is now talking about Uniform Civil Code. Are you going to snatch away pluralism, diversity in the name of Uniform Civil Code?" he told reporters here when asked about Modi's comments at a gathering of BJP workers in Bhopal.

"...he (PM) is not talking about Uniform Civil Code. He is talking about 'Hindu Civil Code'. (They) will treat all Islamic references of practices as illegal and the Prime Minister will protect Hindu practices under the law," he said.

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Observing that the BJP has 300 MPs, he said he "challenges" if the 'Hindu Undivided Family" (HUF) would be abolished and whether he would be able to do so.

He claimed that Modi should speak about the intention to bring in the UCC in Punjab and see what would be the reaction.

"Prime Minister, I am saying again, wants to talk about Hindu Civil Code, wants to bring it. That is his purpose. The purpose is to target India's Muslims and humiliate them," he said.

He alleged that Modi does not accept uniformity and equality and wants to give exception to Hindus and outlaw Muslim religious practices.

The Directive Principles of State Policy also mentions that India's wealth be distributed among the people of the country and that 50 per cent of the country's wealth is with eight to 10 people, he claimed, questioning the Prime Minister's silence on this fact.

The Directive Principles also talk about putting an end to liquor production, Owaisi said, adding why prohibition is not imposed yet.

The AIMIM chief quoted B R Ambedkar as having said that UCC should be voluntary.

The Prime Minister on Tuesday pushed for implementation of a Uniform Civil Code in the country and said Muslims are being instigated over the sensitive issue as he attacked Opposition parties over corruption, terming their Patna conclave as a mere "photo-op".

Triple talaq was abolished in Egypt 80-90 years ago. If it is necessary, then why has it been abolished in Pakistan, Qatar and other Muslim-dominated nations, Modi said in a meeting in Bhopal today.

Reacting to the Prime Minister's remarks, Owaisi said though the NDA Government made a law against triple talaq, it did not make any difference at the ground level.

"Citing Pakistan, Modi ji has said that there is a ban on triple talaq. Why is Modi ji getting his inspiration from Pakistani law? He even made a law against triple talaq here, but it did not make any difference at the ground level.

"Rather, the exploitation of women has increased further. We have always been demanding that social reform will not happen through laws. If a law has to be made, then it should be made against those men who flee from their marriages," he tweeted.

Owaisi wondered what Indian Muslims have to do with Pakistan and Egypt or any other country. "Do you consider them to be big and consider us as less? This is, (he is) speaking anti-national things," he said.

Opposing reservations for backward Muslims, the NDA Government has stopped scholarships for poor Muslims, Owaisi alleged.

"If Pasmanda Muslims are being exploited, what is Modi doing about it? Before seeking votes from Pasmanda Muslims, BJP workers should go door-to-door and apologise that their spokespersons and MLAs tried to insult our Dear Prophet," he asked in the tweet. 'Pasmanda' is a term for backward classes among Muslims.

Referring to Modi's comments that the country got 75 years of independence after slavery of 1,000 years, Owaisi asked what would Modi say about the rule of erstwhile Marathas, Rajputs, Peshwas and others.

Talking about the mosque which was "sacrificed" during the construction of the new Secretariat complex of Telangana, Owaisi said the state government should build the mosque in the complex.

Owaisi, who is also the Hyderabad MP, asserted that an Islamic centre as announced by the state government, construction of metro rail in the old city and other issues should be taken up.

He further said communal riots did not happen in Telangana during the last nine years. "However, communalism is growing in Telangana," he claimed.

Referring to Telangana Minister K T Rama Rao meeting Union ministers in Delhi on state-related issues, the parliamentarian said if the Modi government does not act on the requests, Rama Rao would tell people during elections that he had made representation on development issues to the Centre but the Union Government did not respond.

Similarly, he is also seeking and raising development works in the old city and those related to minorities (with the state government) to be completed, he said.