NEW DELHI: A day after Union home minister Amit Shah expressed confidence that 21 NDA-governed states would implement Uniform Civil Code by 2029, three BJP allies struck a circumspect note.Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, parliamentary party leader of Telugu Desam Party which is in office in Andhra Pradesh, told TOI, “As of now, there is no discussion but whenever we find the need for it, we will look into it. We will definitely involve various stakeholders before we adopt it.“JD(U), which is part of the BJP-led coalition in Bihar, said it would speak with Shah. “I will meet home minister Amit Shah and discuss the issue,” the party’s working president Sanjay Jha told TOI.
Picking up pace
JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, who stepped down as Bihar’s longest-serving CM to make way for BJP’s Samrat Chaudhary in April, had in the past supported the idea of UCC but emphasised that a consensus should be evolved by taking all communities on board.Another BJP ally, Chirag Paswan of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), also chose to be cautious, saying his party was committed to uniformity and diversity and the Constitution has acknowledged different traditions and practices of different communities. Exemptions for Scheduled Tribes under different schedules and articles of the Constitution were proof of this, he said.The proposal for UCC should be made public, interests of stakeholders considered and comprehensive consultation should follow, he said, adding that his party would make its stand clear after this.
JDU, TDP have history of independent positions
Both Telugu Desam Party and JD(U) have a history of taking independent positions on some of the key ideological planks of the BJP since 2014. Both have been in and out of the NDA during this period but are seen to be aligned more closely with the BJP in the third term of PM Narendra Modi. Despite being a BJP ally, JD(U) MPs had not voted in support of Article 370’s abrogation in Parliament in 2019 and had walked out.
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Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Shah had said, “Triple talaq has been abolished, giving Muslim women equal rights. We have introduced Uniform Civil Code in several states and I am confident that in the 21 BJP-NDA ruled states, we will introduce UCC before 2029.”The next Lok Sabha polls are scheduled for 2029.BJP has gone for the rollout of UCC through states governed by it instead of its nationwide implementation in one go. It is already in force in Uttarakhand, while Gujarat, Assam and Madhya Pradesh have passed the law as well.
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