Now preparations are underway to introduce the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill in West Bengal also. The Subhendu Adhikari-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is going to present the UCC bill in the Assembly on Monday during the ongoing budget session. This step of the government is being considered as an important step towards fulfilling its promise of implementation within 6 months.
A source associated with the state cabinet said that this decision was taken in the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) held in the Assembly on Thursday evening. It is being said that this move will bring a major change in legal and social policy in the state, as BJP is presenting Uniform Civil Code as one of its main governance reforms.
Ahead of the assembly elections that ended last month, the party had promised to implement the UCC within six months of coming to power. While releasing BJP's election manifesto or 'Sankalp Patra' in April this year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also laid great emphasis on this promise. Before the UCC bill came in West Bengal, many states including Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have already implemented the UCC proposals in their states.
Shubhendu Adhikari, a cabinet minister, said, “Now Bengal will also implement it on the lines of other BJP ruled states, as we had promised to do before the assembly elections.” The purpose of the proposed Uniform Civil Code will be to include all citizens, irrespective of their religion – it is necessary to create a uniform civil law for matters related to marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption. There is also a proposal to ban practices like polygamy and triple talaq and to change religion-based personal laws.
During the election campaign in the state, Home Minister Amit Shah had argued, “Is it appeasement to have uniform laws for every Indian citizen, or is appeasement when one citizen is allowed to marry four times and another is allowed to marry only once?” During this, he had accused Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee of promoting policies in favor of one community.
While BJP leaders in favor of UCC say that a uniform legal framework will ensure equality before law and strengthen national unity, many opposition parties including Trinamool Congress have expressed concern over it. He says that personal laws are deeply linked to religious freedom and community identity.
It is believed that apart from the UCC bill, the BJP government may also introduce two more laws aimed at dealing with public disorder, vandalism and attacks on policemen and government employees. In this proposal, it has been said to amend the 'West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order Act, 1972'.
This law deals with crimes like rioting, arson, looting and use of explosive substances. Whereas the second proposal is a new law named 'West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026'. Its objective is to strengthen public security measures and deal with organized anti-social activities.
Officials say that these bills have been made in view of several incidents in which violent mobs targeted police stations and government offices. Under the proposed law, such crimes are expected to be categorized as 'cognizable' and 'non-bailable'.
