Around a dozen tribal organisations under the banner of Adivasi Samanwai Samiti staged a demonstration near the Jharkhand BJP headquarters here on Saturday to protest the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

The members of the tribal outfits assembled at Ranchi's Harmu Ground before marching towards the state BJP headquarters.

They raised slogans such as "Adivasiyon ka soshan bandh karo (stop exploitation of tribals)" during the procession.

The demonstrators were, however, stopped by the police before the BJP headquarters, where they staged a demonstration for about an hour.

Adivasi Jan Parishad president Prem Sahi Munda said, "The government is proposing UCC, which is a threat to tribal existence. The UCC will dilute the tribal customary laws and rights that have been given to us by the Indian constitution." The UCC refers to a common set of laws on marriage, divorce and inheritance that would be applicable to all Indian citizens irrespective of religion, tribe or other local customs.

The Law Commission had on June 14 initiated a fresh consultation process on UCC by seeking views from stakeholders, including public and recognised religious organisations, on the politically sensitive issue.

Meanwhile, BJP state president and former chief minister Babulal Marandi called the protest by "so-called" tribal organisations a "political gimmick sponsored by the Hemant Soren government".

He said the agitators must first protest in front of the CM's residence as "under the present state government, tribals have been tortured the most".

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