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On a respite for the conference in Kerala, its leading ally the Indian Muslim League (IUML) on Sunday decided to steer clear of CPI(M)-sponsored seminars against the Center’s plans for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
IUML’s decision came a day after Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, a powerful body of pro-IUML Muslim scholars in Kerala, decided to collaborate with CPI(M) on the proposed seminars.
Had IUML given its weight to the anti-UCC CPI(M) panel, it would have widened the gap between it and Congress. The IUML, which is being actively attracted by CPI(M), continues to be a mainstay of the North Kerala Congress.
After a meeting of party leaders in Malappuram, IUML State President Mr. Sadiq Ali Shahab Thangal said that the party will not participate in CPI(M) seminars against UCC as the Congress has been kept away from it.
“The IUML is part of the Congress-led UDF. Thus, our party can only take a decision in consultation with other allies in the UDF. Congress can take the lead in the fight against UCC… We cannot fight against Union,” Thangal said. The Carbide Corporation That Keeps Congress Out’.
With Congress gripping Muslim weakness in recent years, the CPI(M)-led Democratic Defense Party (DPP) has spotted an opportunity to win the IUML, suggesting that only the coalition is strong enough to hold back the BJP in Kerala. Given the emotional resonance of the UCC, both the UDF and the LDF want to show themselves as being more aware of Muslim concerns on this issue.
Over the past week, as BJP calls around the UCC have grown, the CPI(M), Congress and IUML have all announced campaigns against such a symbol.
Earlier, CPI(M) had made major inroads in the Muslim community base in Kerala in 2020, by taking the lead in the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Congress, which has stakes in India’s heartland, has been more cautious in criticizing the law, which is seen as discriminatory towards Muslims.
CPI(M)’s biggest success at the time was bringing rival Islamic groups, including the Samastha, onto a single platform.
The samastas have once again lined up behind the ruling party as the CPC(M) plans a series of seminars on the UCC, starting from 15 July. Out v. Union Carbide Corporation. We will also petition the Prime Minister against the Unified Arbitration Committee.”
Samastha’s position is a setback for IUML as Malappuram’s influential Panakkad Thangal family, who are in charge of IUML, have great influence over Samastha. Recently, Samastha has also moved away from agitations advocated by IUML against the LDF-led Pinarayi Vijayan government.
The CPI (M) seems to have succeeded in sowing the seed of discord within the IUML ranks. After the Samastha platform, IUML, for example, did not flatly refuse to invite CPI(M) to its seminars. Sunday’s meeting was aimed at reaching consensus within IUML.
The two-day gap, incidentally — from when the CPI(M) was offered and rejected by the IUML — followed despite a decision by the IUML state executive to “bolster” the UDF ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
CPI(M) leaders led by Foreign Minister MV Govindan said: “We do not hold a sense of ostracism towards IUML. The UCC will take the country towards fascism. We will support the IUML if their position is in the right perspective. It is up to the IUML to decide whether to join the LDF “.
CPI M also struck a chord by suggesting that the Central Congress had decided to “wait and watch” before clarifying its position on the UCC, and that its leaders were speaking in different voices. Congress leaders said the party wants the government to first put forward a bill on it, and thus respond.
Advocating part of Sangh Parivar’s agenda to “turn the country into a Hindutva state,” Govindan on Sunday said: “Congress has no position on this issue. It has adopted different approaches in different states. We cannot fight UCC with this approach.”
Congress responded by drawing attention to CPI(M)’s position in favor of the UCC in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 1985 ruling in the Shah Bano case, which bypassed Islamic personal law to award alimony from her deserting husband. .
The CCP(M) was holding mass rallies in Kerala at that time, centered around campaigning for women’s rights.
Party legend and former EMS Namboodiripad was also a supporter of the UCC, and directed CPI(M)-feeder outfit AIDWA to step up agitation for such a symbol.
Not Congress, the CPI (M) was on two minds, said senior congressional lawmaker V. de Satisan. “It has double standards in the UCC. In the 1987 assembly elections, to further the Hindutva agenda, the CPI(M) demanded implementation of the UCC. Is CPI(M) ready to declare EMS wrong in its approach?”.
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