Bengal set to table UCC, public safety bills today in Assembly

Kolkata: The West Bengal government is likely to table the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill in the assembly on Monday. The proposed legislation seeks to replace religion-based personal laws with a common set of civil laws applicable to all citizens, irrespective of religion, caste or tribe. "Once the UCC is implemented, social discrimination will be eliminated, equality will prevail, and constitutional directives will be fulfilled," former Supreme Court Judge Ashok Kumar Ganguly said.

The BJP has consistently backed the implementation of the UCC, making it a key election promise. Ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections, Union home minister Amit Shah had reiterated in several poll rallies the party's commitment to introducing the bill, a senior state minister informed ET.

State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya had on Saturday clarified that members of the Scheduled Tribes would remain outside the purview of the proposed legislation. Apart from the UCC Bill, the government will also introduce the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026 and the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2026.


The objective of the public safety bill says, "...certain sections of society are engaging in anti-social activities, thereby posing a serious threat to lives and property of the bonafide citizens. The extant provisions of the prevailing Acts and rules were found to be ineffective and inadequate to combat/tackle these types of nefarious activities, With an objective to curb these activities, to severely punish the anti-social elements and to prevent their conspiratorial designs, it is considered necessary to bring in some provisions in the form of a new bill."