Patna

RJD leader Bhai Virendra on Wednesday termed Union Home Minister Amit Shah's assertion that a Uniform Civil Code would be implemented in all NDA-ruled states before 2029 a "diversionary tactic" and urged the JD(U) to quit the BJP-led alliance and help Tejashwi Yadav form government in Bihar.

Giving reasons for the remark, he told reporters that the JD(U) has its ideological roots in the socialist movement and "there have been statements from their leaders which suggest that the party was opposed to the UCC".

He, however, made it clear that his remarks should be seen as a request and he was not in touch with the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U).

The JD(U) has been guarded in its response to Shah's assertion about UCC, with its leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary saying the party would study the Bill and "not oppose it for no reason" if the provisions are unexceptionable.

However, the state's main opposition party, the RJD, has adopted a strident stance over the issue, vowing to thwart UCC implementation in Bihar, alleging that it was "against the interests of Muslims". RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has charged the JD(U) with "doing the BJP's bidding" by showing reluctance in taking a clear stand on the question of UCC implementation in Bihar.

Virendra, an MLA from Maner, said, "It is clear that the BJP has no solution to problems such as price rise and joblessness which had caused the Gen-Z to hit the streets in the recent past."

"So, it is trying diversionary tactics like UCC, which is aimed at targeting Muslims. Our party has always been opposed to the uniform civil code. Our stand is clear," he told PTI Video.

The RJD leader was also asked about his statement, urging former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and his son Nishant Kumar to "quit the NDA and join the Mahagathbandhan".

"I made the remark in view of the fact that they (JDU) have their ideological roots in the socialist movement. There have been statements from their leaders which suggest that the party was opposed to the UCC.

"So, in this backdrop, I call upon Nitish Kumar and the young leader Nishant to give up the partnership with BJP and help formation of a Mahagathbandhan government. Let me make it clear that I am not in touch with any leader of that party. I have made a statement on the basis of principles", Virendra said.

Notably, a section of JD(U) leaders, including former national general secretary Shyam Rajak and Nalanda MP Kaushalendra Kumar, have stated that the party's stand would be in line with the one taken by Nitish Kumar in the past, when he had said, "We shall support the UCC bill in Parliament but oppose implementation of the same in Bihar."

Besides, a letter purportedly written by the JD(U) supremo in 2017, when he was in the Mahagathbandhan, has also been shared widely on social media in which the then Bihar chief minister had urged the Law Commission to ensure that states were "not forced" to implement UCC.

Virendra was also asked whether he would agree to have Nishant Kumar become the chief minister since the JD(U) has 85 MLAs as against the RJD's tally of 25.

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"The question does not arise. Whenever a government is formed with our party, it will have Tejashwi Yadav as the chief minister," he clarified.