JD-U plans crucial meet amid civil code debate

The national executive of the JD-U, the ruling NDA ally in Bihar, will meet in Patna next month amid growing signs of a rift with the BJP on issues such as the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav during an iftar party hosted at Haj Bhawan in Patna on Thursday | PTI
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav during an iftar party hosted at Haj Bhawan in Patna on Thursday | PTI

PATNA: The national executive of the JD-U, the ruling NDA ally in Bihar, will meet in Patna next month amid growing signs of a rift with the BJP on issues such as the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). Senior JD-U leaders, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, will finalize the date of the meeting, said JD-U sources. The party would like an internal discussion on the UCC before Parliament takes it up as a bill in the monsoon session.

The UCC controversy flowed back in Bihar after BJP’s Sushil Kumar Modi recently quoted Home Minister Amit Shah as saying that the controversial law would first be implemented in BJP-ruled states and that Bihar would be no exception.

The JD-U has warned its senior ally against raising the contentious matter. JD-U’s parliamentary board chairman Upendra Kushwaha wants the BJP to keep off the issue “at this juncture” and instead focus on works of larger public interest.

Kushwaha has said the question of UCC implementation in Bihar does not arise until Nitish is at the helm. “I would like to assure you again that Nitish will continue to serve as chief minister till 2025,” he added.
For BJP, the growing proximity between Nitish and Lalu Prasad’s RJD is a matter of concern. Both Nitish and Tejashwi Prasad have met twice in a week at iftars. On Thursday, Tejashwi and his elder brother and Hasanpur MLA Tej Pratap attended the iftar hosted by the party’s minority cell.

“There is more to such meetings than meets the eye. After all JD-U and RJD are rivals,” said analyst Pramod Kumar. Earlier in the day, a minor row surfaced over posters at an iftar. These posters carried the pictures of JDU’s minority cell state president Salim Parvez which were larger in size than Nitish Kumar’s. State party chief Umesh Kushwaha has asked the functionaries to use pictures of Nitish only at such functions.

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