New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI) Opposition parties are holding informal discussions on the Uniform Civil Code and will take a "nuanced view" after the draft law comes out, Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha said on Monday.

As Opposition parties prepare to meet in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18 to discuss a common agenda for the next year's General Election, UCC, a draft of which is under works by the 23rd Law Commission, is likely to be on the table.

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Questioning the government's intention to bring uniform personal laws, Jha said that Article 39 of the Constitution, which directs states to protect and promote the economic welfare of citizens, has never been the focus of this government, yet it still insists on bringing the UCC as mandated under Article 44.

Jha, who has been a vocal critic of the uniform code, said the idea behind the current draft is to polarise and divide voters.

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"Informally, discussion is going on. I am amazed that people who have not read the Uniform Civil Code, even a paragraph about it, are speaking about it. They do not know what the previous Law Commission said or comments of BR Ambedkar in the 1948 constituent assembly... Ignorance is a bliss in this regime," the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader said.

The 21st Law Commission, operational between 2015 and 2018 under the chairmanship of former Supreme Court judge Balbir Singh, had said UCC is neither necessary nor desirable.

Speaking in the Constituent Assembly on 23 November 1948, Ambedkar, who was also the country's first law minister, too had cautioned against foisting of UCC across the board.

"It [Article 35] does not say that after the Code is framed the State shall enforce it upon all citizens merely because they are citizens," he had said.

Jha, circumspect that the government might exactly have the same intention, chose not to hedge his words.

"It is dog whistle politics. Because other institutions of polarisation are not working, let's use this. On behalf of my party I have been asking what are you going to do with schedule six?" Jha said.

Scheduled Areas are areas in India with a preponderance of tribal population subject to a special governance mechanism under which the central government plays a direct role in safeguarding cultural and economic interests of scheduled tribes in the area.

The fifth schedule covers tribal areas in states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan, and the sixth schedule protects tribal interests in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.

"In Hinduism itself, there are so many shades from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. In certain states you can marry your maternal uncle, can you imagine that in UP or Bihar. There is so much diversity... but their idea is to divide, to polarise, and garner votes," he said.

"When a government continuously thinks of winning elections, fudging elections, governance goes for a toss. They don't answer questions on employment, inflation, social cordiality, complete law and order breakdown in Manipur," he said.

Jha said a more nuanced view on the issue will be taken by the Opposition parties when the draft comes out.

"Right now I am sure even the PM is not aware of what UCC is," he said.

Asked about gender equality that uniform personal laws are purported to usher in once in play, Jha asked why the government was not using other instruments in the Constitution to bridge that divide.

"You can use 100 instruments to bring gender equality. There is no dearth of mechanisms. You have different instruments to bring gender equality that don't scare people," he said.

"In the Constitution as well, before article 44 we have article 39 which categorically states that the operation of the economic system does not result in concentration of wealth and means of production.

"Despite the scale of income inequality, poverty, and concentration of wealth in a few hands, should it not be an issue for any government? Why? Your idea is not to take up issues that are important but to rake up issues you are very certain it will polarise," he said.

While most Opposition parties are opposing the UCC, Shiv Sena (UBT), among those which came for the meeting in Patna last month, has said it wants to see the fine print of the UCC, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has supported it.

The UCC refers to a common set of laws on marriage, divorce and inheritance that would be applicable to all Indian citizens irrespective of religion, tribe or other local customs.

The Law Commission had on June 14 initiated a fresh consultation process on UCC by seeking views from stakeholders, including public and recognised religious organisations, on the politically sensitive issue.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing BJP workers in Bhopal last month made a strong push for it, asking how can the country function with dual laws that govern personal matters, and accused the Opposition of using the issue to "mislead and provoke" the Muslim community.

(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)