JD(U) leaders to meet Amit Shah to discuss Uniform Civil Code
The JD(U) with 12 Lok Sabha MPs is a key constituent of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.
Patna — Janata Dal (United) leaders will soon meet Union home minister Amit Shah to discuss the issue of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in states, party's working president Sanjay Jha said on Monday, a day after Shah asserted that the BJP-led NDA governments in 21 states will introduce UCC before 2029.
"We will soon meet the home minister to discuss the issue," Jha, who was in Uttarakhand heading a parliamentary delegation, told reporters.
The JD(U) with 12 Lok Sabha MPs is a key constituent of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. It also shares power with the BJP in Bihar.
The remarks came a day after Shah at a press conference in Mumbai said: "We have introduced UCC in several states, and I am confident that in the 21 BJP-NDA ruled states, we will introduce the UCC before 2029."
So far, BJP-ruled Uttarakhand is the only state to enact a comprehensive UCC - a common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, and inheritance. Assam, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh - all BJP-ruled states - have also passed UCC legislations, but they are yet to be enacted. Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal - also governed by the BJP - have set up drafting committees to introduce a UCC bill.
To be sure, Goa is uniquely governed by the pre-independence Portuguese Civil Code of 1867, although it was not enacted as a legislative UCC.
The JD(U)'s stance so far has been that UCC should not be rushed or imposed, and there should be an effort to build broad consensus through wide consultations with all stakeholders and religious groups.
Senior JD(U) leader and former Bihar minister Shyam Rajak said on Monday that the party is opposed to the implementation of UCC in Bihar, even though it had "supported the UCC Bill" in Parliament. He added that the party's stand on UCC had been clearly spelt out by former Bihar chief minister and party chief Nitish Kumar.
"Our stand on the issue was made clear by our leader way back. He had said that although our party was supporting the UCC Bill in Parliament, it was not in favour of implementing the same in Bihar," Rajak said.
He said the post of Bihar CM may have changed hands from Nitish Kumar to BJP's Samrat Chaudhary, but the government is still being run with the help of allies, including the JD(U), LJP(RV), and HAM(Secular). "Our stand is clear, the question of implementing UCC in Bihar does not arise."
Bihar minister and senior BJP leader Ram Kripal Yadav backed Shah's statement and said that within the next three years, UCC will be implemented across all BJP-ruled states to help resolve several issues.
BJP state chief Sanjay Saraogi termed UCC a necessity for the country and blamed the Congress for creating controversy over it. "The Congress should not worry. The UCC is a necessity for this country, and that is why it is being implemented in different states. It has already been implemented in Uttarakhand, and it should be implemented in other states, too," Saraogi said.
The RJD, meanwhile, sought clarification from the NDA allies. "The NDA allies should come clean on it if they are all ready to accept the BJP ideology," said RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmad.
Arun Kumar is Senior Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times. He has spent two-and-half decades covering Bihar, including politics, educational and social issues.
About the Author
Arun Kumar is a veteran journalist and Associate Editor with Hindustan Times, based in Patna. For more than three and a half decades, his reporting has chronicled Bihar's complex political landscape, university and educational reforms, landmark judicial rulings of the Patna High Court, administrative governance, and social shifts across the state. Known for deep investigative reporting and source-grounded accountability journalism, he is a recipient of the prestigious K.C. Kulish Journalism Award and the Keshav Bhatt Journalism Award, and is an LDM Fellow.