The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Wednesday said the fact that the Prime Minister is asking for a uniform civil code (UCC) has more to do with the upcoming elections.

The party’s political advisory committee met in Kerala's Malappuram on Wednesday — a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion on rolling out the UCC — to take stock of the situation. Addressing a media conference, the committee vehemently opposed raking up the issue and reiterated its well-established position against any alteration in the country’s personal law concerning Muslims.

IUML national general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty said the prime minister who hasn’t yet uttered a word on Manipur has suddenly become vocal about the UCC.

“Since they have no achievements to show, their idea is to bring a bill in the winter session of the Parliament and convert it into a major issue quite like what they did in the Karnataka elections. A Prime Minister who hasn’t yet uttered a word on Manipur is now propping up this non-issue,” said Kunhalikutty.

He said that Modi was trying to fool the people by raking up such an issue ahead of the upcoming elections. “We will strongly oppose this,” he added.

Kerala state president of IUML, Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, cautioned that rolling out the UCC would have very serious consequences.

“The constitution doesn’t recognise the UCC. The consequences of implementing the UCC by ignoring that fact will be very big,” Thangal said.

Lok Sabha member E.T. Mohammed Basheer squarely blamed Modi for trying to camouflage his failure in governance with such issues.

“Modi is scared. He is now flashing one more trump card upon realising that his performance has been very poor,” Basheer said, adding it won’t yield the results the Prime Minister wants.