Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s clarion call to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in all BJP-ruled states has stirred the political cauldron in Bihar where the BJP and JD(U) are running a coalition government under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
While BJP cadre have been demanding the implementation of UCC, the JD(U) seems to be indifferent to the growing chorus. Kumar, too, is of the view that the Uniform Civil Code must not be implemented in Bihar as there is a lot of cultural and social diversity in the state.
The tug-of-war
This is not the first time Kumar has been at odds with his ally. Those in the know confide that the Bihar chief minister was not only averse to the idea of repealing Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir initially but also was not on the same page about the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Kumar last spoke about UCC in 2019, when he said it must not be imposed without substantive consultation. He had written a letter to the chairman of the Law Commission in 2017 and advised them not to move in haste before debating over UCC. A JD(U) spokesperson said whatever party leaders were saying today was a mere reiteration of the chief minister’s stand.
The BJP, however, is not willing to give a long rope to the JD(U) on the issue. Firebrand BJP leader and central minister Giriraj Singh recently stoked a controversy when he said that in order to make India a strong nation, Uniform Civil Code must be implemented as soon as possible in Bihar too.
The code is one of the core agendas, which the BJP had promised during the last assembly election in Bihar.
The UCC has now become a bone of contention between the allies, with neither side willing to back down. Since the BJP and JD(U) came together to form the government in Bihar, contentious issues such as the Population Control Bill and the demand for caste census have made the chief minister uneasy and wary.
Iftar Politics or optics?
Kumar’s photos with opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav, who has worked under him as deputy chief minister, have been hogging headlines during Iftar parties in Patna.
Upendra Kushwaha, senior JD(U) leader and close aide of Kumar, questioned the rationale behind implementing UCC in Bihar at a time when the coalition government was doing fine under Kumar.
“Agendas, which are being implemented in other states, will not be implemented here till Nitish Kumar is holding the fort. We will not imitate other states,” Kushwaha said.
Meanwhile, prominent BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi had recently hailed the announcement by Amit Shah but refused to further elaborate on the issue.
Loudspeaker ban: another stalemate?
Apart from UCC, Kumar has also been dismissive of the BJP’s demand to ban loudspeakers in religious places, saying they were not “important issues” for the state.
Political observers in Bihar maintain that Kumar’s participation in Iftar with Tejashwi Yadav doesn’t mean that he will shift his loyalty any time soon.
A senior BJP leader said Kumar is getting a lot of respect in the NDA, which he will not get elsewhere. However, the future of UCC in Bihar still hangs in the balance as JD(U) and opposition parties share the same wavelength.
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