Focus needed on economy, not on bringing Uniform Civil Code: Owaisi

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has said BJP leaders talk about bringing a Uniform Civil Code, but the country does not require it as of now, and focus should be on the growth of economy and generating employment.

The Lok Sabha member from Hyderabad was talking to reporters here on Saturday after attending an Iftar party organised by All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen's (AIMIM) Aurangabad MP Imtiaz Jaleel.

"Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP leaders are saying that they will bring a Uniform Civil Code, but it is not the country's need today. The economy has gone down...passenger trains in the country are being cancelled to transport coal (in the wake of electricity crisis). The unemployment is growing which requires focus," Owaisi said.

The Law commission has also said that the Uniform Civil Code is not needed, he added.

On MNS chief Raj Thackeray's rally scheduled in Aurangabad on Sunday evening, Owaisi said as the government has now given permission for it and it is their responsibility to maintain law and order.

"We feel the environment in Maharashtra should be peaceful," he said.

The state has been witnessing a political slugfest between the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, and the opposition BJP.

Recently, Raj Thackeray sought to corner the Shiv Sena, which swears by 'Hindutva', by demanding that loudspeakers on mosques be removed.

The state also witnessed another political row playing out when independent MP Navneet Rana and her husband and MLA Ravi Rana announced that they would recite the Hanuman Chalisa in front of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's private residence 'Matoshree' in Bandra area of Mumbai.

The couple dropped the plan eventually, but were arrested for 'sedition' and 'promoting enmity between different groups'.