The YSR Congress party is anxious about the Union government’s possible plan to introduce the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and according to informed sources, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy, at his last meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi in July, had enquired about the subject. The party also made it known to the ruling BJP that it will oppose the Bill whenever it is introduced.
While the BJP has been pushing for the UCC for a long time, the debate on the issue reignited with the Law Commission’s notice on June 14 inviting feedback on the subject. On July 3, Law Ministry officials, deposing at a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, said they were awaiting the 22nd Law Commission’s report to proceed any further.
The meeting between Mr. Reddy and Mr. Modi came two days later, on July 5. It is learnt through reliable sources that Mr. Reddy informed the Prime Minister that if the Bill was brought, his party would oppose it. The decision is dictated by State politics, where Mr. Reddy finds himself favourably placed among the minority voters. Andhra Pradesh, as per the 2011 census, has a little less than 10% Muslim population. In the last Assembly elections, the minority voters chose the YSR Congress over its rival Telugu Desam Party (TDP) despite the fact that the latter was engaged in a pitched battle with the BJP and could have been a natural choice. “When we got the minority vote in adverse conditions, it would be politically suicidal to abandon them,” a senior YSRCP leader said. In 2019, the YSR Congress had also opposed the triple talaq Bill.
TDP’s stand
The TDP, on the other hand, has not formed any opinion on the subject. According to sources, in June, after the UCC returned to public discourse, a few senior leaders enquired about the party’s position with TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu. Mr. Naidu, according to sources, shrugged it off, saying there is still time to frame the TDP’s position and asked the leaders to wait till the government places a draft law in the public domain.
The party is clear that its opposition is limited to a possible legislation on the UCC. On more controversial Bills like the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, the YSR Congress will stand with the government.
