JD(U) tells Shah that Bihar will not enact a Uniform Civil Code

Janata Dal (United) has drawn a line under Union home minister Amit Shah's 2029 Uniform Civil Code timetable. On 14 September in Patna, party leader Shyam Rajak said the code would not be implemented in Bihar, even though JD(U) MPs backed the idea in Parliament.

Shah had said in Mumbai on 13 September that Uttarakhand's enforced code should be followed by the other NDA-ruled states before the next Lok Sabha election. Gujarat, Assam and Madhya Pradesh have already passed bills and are waiting on assent. He put the count at 21 states.

Rajak's reply was specific. "When the UCC was being introduced, we supported it, but our leader Nitish Kumar had made it clear that we would not implement the UCC in Bihar, and we stand by that position," he told IANS. Later the same day he told reporters there was "no question of implementing UCC in Bihar at any cost."

The objection is not new. Nitish Kumar, while chief minister, wrote to the Law Commission setting out reservations and calling for wide consultation. JD(U) leader Neeraj Kumar said that letter still guides the party. What is new is the person sitting in 1 Anne Marg. Samrat Choudhary of the BJP is now chief minister. Reporters put that change to Rajak. He said the government is an alliance of JD(U), Rashtriya Lok Morcha, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular). "There is no independent government," he said.

A parliamentary yes and a state no

The distinction Rajak is defending is easy to miss and useful to the party. Supporting a central discussion or a bill is not the same as notifying a state code that rewrites marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption for every community in Bihar. Uttarakhand's law is the working template. It is a state statute, not a single national code dropped from Delhi. Shah's 2029 mark assumes each NDA government will pass its own version.

Bihar is not a BJP majority government. JD(U) has 12 Lok Sabha MPs and shares power in Patna. That is enough leverage to slow a state bill, and not enough to stop the BJP from arguing that an NDA state should fall in line. Hence the request for a meeting. India Today reported that working president Sanjay Jha wants to see Shah and repeat the demand for consultations with religious groups, state governments and other stakeholders.

Legislature party leader Shrawon Kumar declined to add his own line on Monday. He said spokespersons should speak first. That hesitation inside the same party tells you the argument is not settled even among JD(U) ministers.

What the calendar actually allows

Shah has already said Bihar will be part of a process of discussion and consensus, and that 2029 leaves time. The BJP can live with delay if the public claim stays intact. JD(U) can live with the national claim if the Bihar statute never appears. Those two positions can coexist until someone tables a draft in the state assembly.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal has already framed the code as a move against one religion. That is the opposition line Rajak is trying not to own while still blocking the bill. A party that voted with the NDA in Delhi and then vetoes the same idea in Patna will be called inconsistent. Rajak's answer is that Nitish said so at the time, on the record.

The test is mechanical. If a UCC draft is circulated in Bihar before 2029, JD(U) either votes it down, abstains, or splits. Choudhary cannot pass it alone. Shah cannot pass a Bihar statute from Mumbai. The 21-state list is a political target. Bihar is the first NDA state where an ally has said the target does not apply.