BJP's Ally AIADMK Says It Will Oppose UCC

BJP's southern ally AIADMK on Wednesday reiterated its stand against the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code.

AIADMK chief K Palaniswami, when asked by reporters on BJP's push for Uniform Civil Code and his party's stand, said the position had already been made known in the party's manifesto released for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

''Read our manifesto, we have mentioned it clearly,'' he told reporters after chairing a meeting of the party's district secretaries here.

In the manifesto, under the topic 'Secularism', the party had said in 2019: ''The AIADMK will urge the Government of India to not bring any amendments to the Constitution for a Uniform Civil Code that will adversely affect the religious rights of minorities in India.''

Asked if his party's alliance with the BJP would continue (for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls), Palaniswami said: ''There is no election now. There is one year to go for the polls, there is no urgency. At the time of polls, for sure we will tell you with which parties we are aligning. Already, we have made known (the party's stand on alliance with BJP) about the BJP.'' At the appropriate time, everything would be spoken transparently, he said.

The alliance would be forged following the footsteps of party founder M G Ramachandran and late party matriarch J Jayalalithaa. ''Our ties with the BJP has already been made clear,'' he reiterated.

In March and then in April this year after a meeting with BJP top leaders J P Nadda and Amit Shah in Delhi, Palaniswami had said his party's ties with the BJP remained intact.