New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) The BJP on Tuesday hit out at the Congress and other Opposition parties for criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stand on the UCC, saying it is there in the Constitution as a directive principle of state policy and there is a Supreme Court "decision" also in this regard.

The Congress attacked Modi after he made a strong pitch for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) at an event in Bhopal on Tuesday and said he should first talk about poverty, price rise and unemployment in the country. The RJD said the prime minister should not make such issues an instrument of "dog-whistle politics".

Also Read | UGC NET Answer Key 2023: NTA Likely To Release Provisional Answer Key of National Eligibility Test Exam at ugcnet.nta.nic.in, Know How To Download.

Slamming the Opposition parties, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav said, "This (UCC) is written in our Constitution. In Article 44 of the Constitution, it has been mentioned as the directive principle of state policy. There is a Supreme Court decision also in this regard."

"There should not be any discrimination. There should not be any discrepancy, Right to Justice should be ensured to everybody, including those who are exploited, deprived and oppressed in society. There should be equality in society," he told a press conference here.

Also Read | Tamil Nadu: Police in Southern Districts Alerted on Possible Caste-Related Violence.

On Opposition parties accusing the BJP of trying to create a division among Muslims by wooing the Pasmanda Muslim community, Yadav said they should be "ashamed" of not doing anything for those belonging to the "exploited, deprived and oppressed" sections of society.

There are extremely backward sections among the backward classes, the BJP leader noted and attacking the Opposition parties, said those pursuing vote bank politics in their name, have "never" paid attention to them.

"Why does it trouble the Opposition when the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi has been making efforts to change the lives of those exploited, deprived and oppressed?" he asked.

"They (Opposition parties) should rather be ashamed as they never did anything for the OBC (Other Backward Classes). The Pasmanda community also comes under OBC. For a long time, the Pasmanda community has been ignored," Yadav said.

During the Bhopal event, Prime Minister Modi, while making a strong pitch for the UCC, said the Constitution also mentions of having equal rights for all citizens.

Modi also said the BJP has decided it would not adopt the path of appeasement and vote bank politics and alleged that the Opposition is using the issue of UCC to mislead and provoke the Muslim community.

Pasmanda Muslims, who are backward, are not even treated as equal because of the vote bank politics, the prime minister said.

'Pasmanda', a term for backward classes among Muslims, often finds a mention in Prime Minister Modi's speeches, at party forum as well as government events, and how the government has worked for the deprived without any discrimination.

Reacting to Modi's remark on the UCC, Congress general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal said the prime minister can say anything, but "he has to answer the real questions of this country - unemployment, price rise and Manipur issue".

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha, "We are seeing that work is being done to instigate such people in the name of Uniform Civil Code. If there is one law for one member in a house and another for the other, will the house be able to run? So how will the country be able to run with such a dual system?"

Hearing the prime minister makes one feel that he is looking for occasions to make "dog whistles", he said.

In a tweet, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi said, "Will the PM end 'Hindu Undivided Family'? Because of HUF, the country is losing Rs 3,064 crores every year."

On one hand, the prime minister is shedding crocodile tears for Pasmanda Muslims, and on the other, his "pawns" are attacking their mosques, taking away their livelihoods, bulldozing their homes and lynching them, Owaisi alleged.

Opposing reservations for backward Muslims, the NDA government has stopped scholarships for poor Muslims, he alleged.

"If Pasmanda Muslims are being exploited, what is Modi doing about it? Before seeking votes from Pasmanda Muslims, BJP workers should go door-to-door and apologise that their spokespersons and MLAs tried to insult our Dear Prophet," Owaisi tweeted.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)