Saamana mouthpiece of Shiv Sena claims UCC cannot be based solely on opposition to Sharia

Saamna, the official newspaper of the Uddhav Thackeray faction stated on Thursday that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) cannot be based solely on opposition to Sharia, because the UCC also calls for justice and equality under the law for all people. Sharia is an Islamic religious law based on the teachings of the Quran and the traditional sayings of Muhammad.

In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should first respect uniform law by disqualifying 40 MLAs including Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, whose Urban Development department has taken action against 18 ex-corporators from the Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC).

Earlier this week, 18 former Congress corporators of BNCMC were disqualified from contesting any elections for the next six years for voting against their party’s official mayoral candidate in 2019 and defying party whip. Only opposing the Sharia law of Muslims is not the basis for Uniform Civil Code. Having equality in law and justice is also Uniform Civil Code, the editorial said.

What law is it if corrupt people, ministers, businessmen of the ruling party are protected and leaders from opposition parties are implicated under anti-corruption statutes, it asked.