UCC as necessary as the Constitution, says West Bengal drafting committee member Tathagata Roy

West Bengal Uniform Civil Code (UCC) drafting committee member Tathagata Roy stated that the proposed law is as necessary as the Constitution itself, heavily criticizing the former Trinamool Congress administration for its alleged policy of minority appeasement

Kolkata: Member of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) drafting committee in West Bengal and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tathagata Roy on Sunday underlined that the proposed law is “as necessary as the Constitution”, while attacking the previous Trinamool Congress government for “favouring” Muslims.

During an interaction with IANS, Roy said: “When our Constitution was implemented and prepared, Article 44 itself states that the state shall endeavour to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). So, how can the question arise now about how necessary the UCC is? It is as necessary as the Constitution itself.”

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The former Tripura Governor expressed his gratitude upon being appointed as a member of the drafting committee for the UCC in West Bengal, saying: “I did not ask anyone to include me in the committee. The Chief Minister (Suvendu Adhikari) felt it was appropriate and included my name, and I am grateful for that.”

Launching a harsh critique on the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government, Roy said: “The previous state government spread confusion and misconceptions. Trinamool Congress had no ideology or principles. Their only aim was to remain in power by any means and, during this period, extract as much money as possible, from people’s pockets and from the government Treasury and fill their own pockets. That was their sole objective.”

“Their only formula to remain in power was to ensure 100 per cent of the Muslim votes, which is why it gave all kinds of benefits to the Muslims. Even in the OBC list (made by the Trinamool government), I think 80-85 names were that of the Muslims,” he alleged.

The BJP leader added: “They (Trinamool Congress) were so much engulfed in power that they turned into Muslims, setting aside the Hindu religion. That is why the people removed them from power with (a nearly) 92 per cent voter turnout.”

Responding to questions about the BJP government’s performance in the state, Tathagata Roy said that it is not possible to judge it in just two months.

“At least one year should be given for that. However, the way this government has conducted itself in these two months, I appreciate it, because one of the points mentioned in the election manifesto was… earlier there was ‘rule by the ruler’, but now there will be ‘rule of law’. The Chief Minister (Suvendu Adhikari) has implemented this and demonstrated it in action. As part of this implementation, there is no discrimination between criminals based on whether they are Hindu or Muslim,” he asserted.

Referring to the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl in Baruipur, Roy said: “Majority of the accused in the Baruipur case are Hindus but they were arrested.”

He also added: “The scale of irregularities done by the leaders of the Trinamool Congress were exposed by this (BJP) government and they were arrested. Further, the law will take its own course.”