india

Updated: Aug 17, 2019 12:35 IST

The Shiv Sena on Saturday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a string of key decisions, including those on triple talaq law and abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, and said that these are steps towards bringing in uniform civil code in India.

In an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana, the party said that the issues that were lingering for last 70 years are being resolved by Modi. “After bringing in law against triple talaq and scrapping Article 370 in Kashmir, Modi is now being asked when will uniform civil code come in the country. We are confident that the day is not far. Modi and (Home Minister Amit) Shah have already taken steps in that direction,” the editorial said.

The editorial comes a day after Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray stressed on bringing in a uniform civil code for the country.

The BJP ally in Maharashtra said that the first step Modi took was to bring in a law against triple talaq, and the second step was to scrap Article 370. “Now giving triple talaq is a criminal offense. Muslim women will now get justice as per Indian Penal Code and not through Sharia or Islamic laws... Article 35A and 370 were impediment in country’s Constitution and uniform civil code. After removing it, Modi has cleared the road for a common civil code,” it said.

The Sena said that Modi’s reference to keeping the size of families smaller for faster growth of the country is also a measure to have a common law in the country. It said that the “Muslim ‘personal law’ does not recognise family planning”. The editorial said, “There were 2.5 crore Muslims in the country when the partition happened in 1947. Today, this ‘bomb’ has reached 22 crore. Pakistan’s population is lower than this figure. Till now it has been said that there is no family planning in Islam, but Modi has equated family planning to nationalism. Therefore, the Muslim community will have to participate in the nation building. A law to control population explosion is being demanded. Therefore, uniform civil code is on its way.”

A uniform civil code was part of the BJP’s election manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as was the abrogation of Article 370.