Congress joins anti-UCC bandwagon in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Taking a  cue from the CPM and the Muslim League, the Congress in Kerala has decided to launch a major campaign against the Uniform Civil Code though its national leadership is yet to come out with a clear stand on the issue.

The Congress state executive committee meeting on Wednesday felt the party should not ignore the impact of the legislation on Muslim organisations. It decided to hold three regional-level seminars on the issue. 

The  CPM was the first to announce a seminar on UCC involving Muslim organisations. Soon, the IUML came out with a decision to stage protests. The Congress state executive meeting decided to hold a campaign to expose, what it termed, the “double standards” of the BJP and the CPM on UCC. 

It alleged that the Union government was trying to create communal polarisation before the general election. The party has, however, decided not to hit the streets on the issue. 

A senior Congress MP told TNIE that the seminar schedule will be finalised after talks with its allies. “The UDF meeting on Monday will take up the UCC issue. The views of the IUML would be crucial. Congress state president K Sudhakaran will announce more details about the three seminars to be held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode.

The UCC does not pertain to a particular community and the meeting decided to support the cause of the Muslim Coordination Committee,” he said. The executive committee also decided to hold a protest campaign, ‘With Manipur’,  against rampant violence there. The party will also hold police station marches in all 140 assembly constituencies against the police atrocities on Congress leaders and the media. 

Benny Behanan, MP, raised concern with the leadership’s sidelining of group leaders over the appointment of block presidents. Senior ‘A’ group leader K C Joseph and P C Vishnunadh, MLA, endorsed Benny’s stand. 

The furore created by Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden’s proposal to move the state capital from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi was raised by senior MP Kodikunnil Suresh. The leadership rejected a discussion on the matter but promised action against Hibi. K Muraleedharan pointed out that under the guise of the Youth Congress election, group meetings have returned with full vigour.

Congress to hold seminars

• The Congress will hold three regional-level seminars on the issue  
• The Congress state executive meeting decided to hold a campaign to expose, what it termed, the “double standards” of the BJP and the CPM on UCC
• Congress alleged that the Union government was trying to create communal polarisation before the general election
• The party has, however, decided not to hit the streets on the issue 
• A senior Congress MP said the seminar schedule will be finalised after talks with its allies
• He said the meeting decided to support the cause of Muslim Coordination Committee 

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