Kozhikode: The dispute over the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) should not be dragged onto the streets, said Muslim community leaders in Kerala's Kozhikode district on Tuesday.
The Muslim Coordination Committee has decided to boycott programmes that project the UCC as an issue of the Muslim community. The Committee said UCC cannot be a tool for communal polarisation in the country.
Sayyid Sadik Ali Shihab Thangal, the state president of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), has urged members of the Muslim community to 'respond in a responsible way'. “Implementing a Uniform Civil Code in a country like India is against its social system of diversity. We must respond in a responsible way; we will move politically and legally,” Thangal said.
The UCC has been part of the BJP's manifesto for several years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently called for the need to implement it.
The IUML leadership had called for a joint sitting of the coordination committee to discuss the ongoing issue.
“The Central government made similar attempts even before, but now the case is different. It's not an issue which affects a particular community, it must be watched in a wider context and confronted on a national level,” Thangal, who presided over the meeting, said.
On joining hands with CPM
IUML General Secretary, PK Kunhalikutty has refused to comment on the idea of joining hands with the state-ruling CPM in the UCC issue.
“Whether we would be joining our hands with CPIM is not a matter of discussion now,” Kunhalikutty said. The senior IUML leader said his party will consider the matter once CPM extends an invitation to its seminar.
“In New Delhi, everybody is together against the UCC bill, except BJP. It's a national issue. Every community's religious beliefs must be safeguarded. The Muslim coordination committee has traditionally been a platform for the community leaders to sit together and discuss serious issues,” Kunhalikutty said.
IUML state general secretary PMA Salam and veteran leader ET Mohammed Basheer MP were among those who attended. Samastha representatives Koyyod Ummar Musliar, Dr Bahauddin Nadhvi, Prof AK Abdul Hameed from AP Sunni fraction, KNM leaders TP Abdulla Koya Madhani, Dr Hussain Madavoor, MK Mohammedali from Jamaat E Islami, MM Bava Moulavi (Dakshina Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulema) and Dr Fasal Gafoor (MES) were among the major leaders who attended the meeting.
