AAP MP’s ‘fractured mandate’ jibe at NDA amid assertions of UCC still on table
New Delhi, June 13 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lawmaker Sanjay Singh on Thursday took potshots at the BJP-led NDA dispensation over claims that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and ‘One Nation, One Election’ were not shelved, and the proposals were still on the table. “This is the best time to call snap polls. The Prime Minister should resign, and the entire country should go to elections in one go,” he said, taking a derisive taunt at the BJP. Notably, Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, after taking charge, stated that the UCC and ‘one nation, one poll’ were two major poll promises of the BJP, and they remain very much a part of the government’s agenda. Given the BJP’s numbers in Lok Sabha and its dependence on allies, the two issues are slated to face headwinds as allies have expressed reservations over it, UCC, in particular. The AAP Rajya Sabha MP said that the BJP got a “fractured mandate of 240” and failed to secure a majority of 272 on its own but remains hell-bent on pushing the ‘divisive’ UCC. He claimed that the UCC not only affects the spirit of India’s unity in diversity but will also harm the interests of various communities, including Adivasis, Sikhs, Jains, and other marginalised groups. “You want to implement a uniform law across the nation when the traditions in some religions don’t align with one particular law. India is a diverse country, and we find unity in diversity, while you say that you will run the country as per one law. It is not possible,” he stated. He also accused the BJP of belittling its alliance partners in the NDA and said that it handed over “jhunjhuna” (toy) ministries to allies. “This shows the ruling party’s disregard for allies and also its tendency to dominate them. After giving them jhunjhuna ministry, it will attempt to break them if they don’t follow its diktats,” he alleged. The absence of JD-U leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at TDP supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu’s swearing-in (as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister) was a clear display of ‘discord’ within the NDA, he claimed. Sanjay Singh also criticised the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over a series of terror attacks in the past four days in Jammu and Kashmir. “Pilgrims have been attacked and killed in Jammu. The BJP claimed that after the abrogation of Article 370, there is peace in Jammu and Kashmir but you can see what is happening there,” he said. –
