Union home minister Amit Shah’s statement that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) would be introduced in all NDA-ruled states by 2029 has stirred a political debate in Bihar where JD(U), the alliance’s most significant partner, has been reluctant to support the UCC’s implementation in its present template.
BJP state president Sanjay Saraogi blamed the Congress for creating a controversy over the issue. “The Congress party 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 as well,” he added. “The government will certainly hold consultations with all the alliance partners. It is not a question of any individual opinion,” he added, referring to JD(U) leader’s statement.
Earlier reporting noted: ‘Country’s soul is its pluralism’: Owaisi slams Amit Shah’s remarks on UCC in 21 NDA-ruled states before 2029 AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday criticised Union home minister Amit Shah’s announcement that BJP-led NDA governments in 21 states would introduce the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) before 2029, questioning whether the ruling alliance’s partners had an independent political voice.
Party supremo and former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had actually said that he backed the UCC bill in Parliament but would not let it implemented in Bihar. In a first reaction to Shah’s statement from JD(U), former Bihar minister and JD(U) leader Shyam Rajak said there would be no change in the JD(U)’s stand on the UCC from what Nitish Kumar has maintained. “Even while endorsing the UCC, he had said it would not be implemented in Bihar, and the stand remains unchanged,” he added. Razak said that although the government’s leadership may have changed hands in Bihar from the JD(U) to the BJP, it was still a coalition government comprising JD(U), HAM-S, LJP-R and RLM, and there was no question of the UCC being implemented in the state. Another ally HAM-S president and Bihar minister Santosh Kumar Suman said there was nothing wrong with what Amit Shah had said, and it was very premature to speak on what the government would do. Amid the war of words, JD(U) working president Sanjay Jha, who is in Uttarakhand heading a parliamentary delegation, said his party leaders would soon meet Shah to discuss UCC implementation. “We will soon meet the home minister to discuss the issue,” he added. Earlier reporting noted: In a post on X, Owaisi said NDA allies should prove that they were not merely “choti BJP”. Earlier reporting noted: He also cited the Law Commission appointed by the NDA government, saying it had concluded that the UCC was “neither necessary nor desirable”.
The party on Monday reasserted this position.
On the other hand, Bihar minister Ram Kripal Yadav backed Shah’s statement and said that within the next three years, before 2029, the UCC would be implemented across all states ruled by the BJP to help resolve “several issues”.
