Days after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) gave “in principle” support to Uniform Civil Code (UCC), Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said questioned the need for having a UCC, saying the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) resorts to such tactics close to the polls.

Responding to a question on the Uniform Civil Code, the chief minister called India is like a bouquet with different communities having different customs and traditions. “Our country is like a bouquet which has flowers of different colours. Every religion has its own culture and rituals. You (Bharatiya Janata Party) want the bouquet to have flowers of only one colour,” he asked.

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Mann also said since every religion has its own culture and customs, there is a need to build a consensus. “Our Constitution says all should be equal. Only then you should implement the Uniform Civil Code. Are all equal in the country? No.  There are still many downtrodden people who don’t get opportunities,” he pointed out.

Accusing the BJP of raising the issue with an eye on polls, Mann said, “The AAP does not tinker with such practices, it is a secular party. We just want the country to become Number 1.”

Mann’s statement came days after senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sandeep Pathak had said AAP supports Uniform Civil Code “in principle”, but since this issue concerns all religious communities, there should be wide-ranging consultations and efforts to build consensus.

In its reaction to Mann’s statement, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) asked him to ask AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal to clear the party’s stand on the proposed UCC, stating “this was necessary to end the doublespeak in the AAP central and Punjab units on this sensitive issue”.

In a statement here, the SAD leader Dr Daljit Cheema said it is shocking that AAP wants to vote in favour of UCC in the Rajya Sabha even as “Mann is befooling Punjabis by stating that the party is against it in Punjab”.

Calling for a stop to this doublespeak, Dr Cheema said “Earlier, AAP has adopted the same deceptive stand on the issue of Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal”.

Reminding the CM of the statement of the party’s Rajya Sabha member from Punjab, Dr Cheema said, “Pathak articulated the party’s stand at the national level by asserting that AAP was in favour of UCC in principle”.

“This means the party was gearing up to vote in favour of UCC once it is taken up for approval in the Rajya Sabha. The Punjab chief minister’s statement against UCC has no meaning in this context,” he added.

The SAD maintained that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and its implementation throughout the country would have an adverse impact on minority and tribal communities.