UCC drive gathers pace: West Bengal becomes eighth BJP-ruled state to launch process

New Delhi: The newly-elected government in West Bengal has announced plans to initiate the process to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), becoming the eighth state with a BJP chief minister to either implement the UCC or formally initiate the process. Several BJP-ruled states have accelerated efforts in recent days to roll out the UCC, underscoring the party's strategy of fulfilling one of its core ideological commitments through a state-by-state approach.

The BJP-led NDA is currently ruling 22 states and UTs, including 17 states with BJP CMs. Four states-Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Sikkim-are headed by NDA allies, while the UT of Puducherry is governed by NDA ally AINRC. Of the 17 states with a BJP CM, eight have either implemented the UCC or formally initiated the process, while the remaining are yet to announce concrete steps.

West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari on Friday said his government would implement the UCC by following the due legal process on the lines of Gujarat and Assam. A UCC bill is likely to be introduced in the assembly on Monday during the ongoing budget session, ahead of the BJP government's stated six-month deadline.


Uttarakhand is the only state to have implemented the UCC, becoming the first state in independent India to operationalise the law. Goa has long followed a common civil code dating back to the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867, which predates Independence and is often cited as the country's closest example of a UCC. Gujarat and Assam have moved ahead with the UCC process, while Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and now West Bengal have initiated the exercise by constituting committees, preparing draft legislation or launching stakeholder consultations.

Among the states currently preparing legislation, Madhya Pradesh has announced that a draft UCC will be ready by July 5 and a bill will be introduced during the assembly's monsoon session. Rajasthan has constituted a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai to draft the law. Maharashtra has approved a panel headed by a retired high court judge to examine its implementation, while Chhattisgarh has formed a five-member committee to prepare a state-specific draft after consultations.

The staggered rollout reflects the BJP's strategy of advancing the UCC through individual states, with the party arguing that a phased approach is a more practical and feasible way.

The UCC seeks to replace religion-based personal laws governing marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance and succession with a common set of civil laws applicable to all citizens. Article 44 of the Constitution, a Directive Principle of State Policy, states that the State shall endeavour to secure a UCC across the country.

The issue was debated extensively in the Constituent Assembly before being placed under the Directive Principles rather than being made an enforceable right, leaving its implementation to future governments. The 21st Law Commission, in its 2018 consultation paper, concluded that a UCC was "neither necessary nor desirable" at that stage, while recommending reforms in personal laws to eliminate discrimination.