Most BJP allies keep away from supporting Uniform Civil Code, positive to idea of simultaneous polls

Most BJP allies have kept their cards close to chest on the issue of Uniform Civil Code, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed in his Independence Day speech, with the party's largest partner Telugu Desam Party (TDP) saying that it will wait for details to emerge before finalising its stand. The JD(U), the BJP's second biggest ally, said the party supports any such reform but its spokesperson K C Tyagi added that it must be pushed only after evolving a consensus by speaking to all stake-holders, including religious groups and states.

Lavu Srikrishna Devarayalu, the head of TDP Parliamentary Party, told PTI that his party will wait for the details of any proposal related to the UCC before finalising its stand.

Another party ally Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has also been non-committal, with its president and Union Minister Chirag Paswan recently highlighting cultural, linguistic and regional diversities across the country to wonder how everyone can be brought under one umbrella.

Last month, he said that his party will wait for a draft on the UCC before taking a stand.

Tyagi cited JD(U) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's submission in 2017 to the Law Commission to make his point.

Kumar had said, "Any attempt to impose a UCC without obtaining through substantive consultations the concurrence of various religious groups, especially the minorities, could lead to social friction and an erosion of faith in the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion."

However, the proposal for simultaneous elections, which was also staunchly advocated by Modi on Thursday, generally enjoys support among the BJP's allies.

Tyagi said his party is in complete agreement with the BJP on the issue. Both JD(U) and the LJP(Ram Vilas) had extended their support to the concept 'one nation one election' in their submission to the high-level committee headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind.

Another important BJP ally Shiv Sena, which is headed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has been supportive of both UCC and simultaneous elections.

Modi had on Thursday made an unequivocal pitch for a uniform civil code in the country, asserting that a "secular civil code" in place of the existing "communal" one is the need of the hour.

He also pushed forcefully for 'one nation one election'. Frequent elections are an "obstacle" in the country's growth, and every scheme is seen as a consequence of one poll or another happening every few months, he said in his speech on India's 78th Independence Day.

The UCC has been a key ideological plank of the BJP, while the party has also taken a strong stand in favour of simultaneous polls, promising both measures on its successive manifestos.