GUWAHATI: Assam’s BJP government has stirred a hornet’s nest with its decision to repeal the Assam Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act, 1935.While some threatened to move the court against this decision of the state cabinet, minority-based All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Maulana Badruddin Ajmal said it was the first step towards implementing Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state.“They want to polarise voters by provoking the Muslims. This is the first step towards bringing UCC but it will cause the death of the BJP government in the state,” Ajmal, who is also the Dhubri MP, told journalists on Saturday.His party colleague and MLA Karim Uddin Barbhuiya said the government’s decision would be challenged in a court.“We have no option other than to fight it legally. Their idea is to torment the Muslim society. This is BJP’s political agenda for votes. They are doing this under pressure from the RSS,” Barbhuiya said.Abdul Qadir of Assam Jamiat Ulema Hind said the Jamiat would consult lawyers.“It remains to be seen if the Assam cabinet has the power to repeal this Act. We understand that as the election is round the corner and the government has lost popular support, it took up this effort to try and regain its lost ground,” he said.Political outfit Assam Jatiya Parishad chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi alleged the BJP government was playing politics on the issue.“The government should not make unilateral decisions on any issue involving social customs, religious beliefs and public sentiments. The views of scholars of the communities concerned need to be sought in these matters. But creating a political issue to provoke a community by teasing their sentiment is likely to cause social unrest,” he warned.
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