Member of Parliament V. Vijaya Sai Reddy, who is contesting for the Nellore Lok Sabha constituency as the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) candidate, demanded that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu clears his stand on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) within the next 24 hours.
Addressing the media at his office here on Saturday, he said that the party owed an explanation to the public ahead of the general elections, in light of its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that is bent on implementing the UCC upon coming to power.
Highlighting that YSRCP president and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had already stated that any law should be implemented only after ensuring consensus among all parties, Mr. Vijaya Sai Reddy demanded that Mr. Naidu also spelt out his stance.
“In a country with diverse religions, cultures, traditions and practices, consensus is necessary. This is our party’s stand and we have not allied with any party. Against this backdrop, we demand Mr. Naidu reveals his stand considering his tie-up with the BJP,” he said while asserting that no statement from the TDP within the next 24 hours would mean that the party is against the interests of the religious minorities.
Further, he demanded that Nellore Lok Sabha candidate Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy and Nellore City Assembly candidate Ponguru Narayana also reveal their stance on the UCC’s impact on minority communities. He also accused the two leaders of spending ₹1000 crore and ₹500 crore respectively for winning their seats.