Patna: Union minister and HAM founder Jitan Ram Manjhi on Wednesday backed the proposed implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), as differences over the issue emerged among NDA allies in Bihar. He also expressed support to the Centre’s decisions on triple talaq and Article 370.HAM is a key NDA ally in Bihar and at the Centre. Manjhi is the Union minister for micro, small and medium enterprises, while his son Santosh Kumar Suman is the state minister for minor water resources.In a post on X on Wednesday, Manjhi said UCC meant the “right to equality”. “Baba Saheb’s Constitution is based on the country’s policy of secularism, which also grants us the right to equality. Discussing any kind of tricks or manoeuvres in the implementation of the UCC is, in my understanding, unconstitutional, and our govt, under the leadership of Modi ji, has taken the decision to implement it after much thought and consideration,” he said.Manjhi also said, “We are in favour of implementing every constitutional provision, whether it is the issue of triple talaq or Section 370,” and added that the govt would not take decisions based on individual interests. “We are taking every decision in the national interest,” he said.His statement came amid differing positions among NDA partners over the proposed UCC.The statement also came a day after RJD spokesperson Bhai Virendra appealed to JD(U) president Nitish Kumar to break away from the NDA and form a govt with RJD’s support.On Wednesday, Virendra also appealed to Nishant Kumar, Nitish Kumar’s son and health minister, to act on the matter. “We urge Nitish Kumar and also Nishant Kumar to break alliance with the BJP and form a govt with our support,” he told the media. He said his remarks were a request and that he was not in touch with the JD(U).Asked whether Nishant would become CM if the JD(U) quit the NDA, Virendra said only Tejashwi Prasad Yadav could become CM. He also described the UCC as a “diversionary agenda” of the Union home minister.The JD(U) has so far adopted a cautious position on the issue. Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Choudhary said on Tuesday that the party would first study the provisions of the proposed Bill and would not oppose it “for no reason”.The position followed statements by JD(U) national general secretary Shyam Rajak and Nalanda MP Kaushalendra Kumar that the party’s stand would be in line with Nitish Kumar’s earlier position that the party would support a UCC Bill in Parliament but oppose its implementation in Bihar.A letter purportedly written by Nitish in 2017, when he was CM and the JD(U) was part of the Grand Alliance, has also been widely shared on social media. In it, he had urged the Law Commission to ensure that states were “not forced” to implement the UCC.
