Bengal government to implement UCC, says CM Suvendu Adhikari

West Bengal government has decided to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state, said Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday (June 26)adding that it would be implemented following due legal procedures on the lines followed by Gujarat and Assam.

Adhikari also said that his government would adhere to the prescribed process for implementing the UCC. He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a government programme to celebrate the 189th birth anniversary of literary icon Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay at College Street in north Kolkata.

‘Will follow legal process’

"There is a procedure for UCC implementation, and we will adhere to that. This will be similar to Gujarat and Assam," he said. Gujarat and Assam have initiated legislative and administrative steps towards adopting a Uniform Civil Code, governing issues such as marriage, divorce and inheritance.

Also Read: A brief history of uniform civil code, and why the idea wouldn't go away

According to a PTI report, quoting a source in the Suvendu Adhikari-led cabinet, the state government is likely to introduce the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill in the assembly on Monday during its ongoing budget session, much ahead of the party-stated six-month deadline.

The matter was discussed and finalised in a Business Advisory Committee meeting held in the assembly on Thursday evening, added Adhikari.

‘UCC Bill likely on Monday’

The development could mark one of the most consequential legal and social policy shifts in Bengal in recent times, with the BJP holding the UCC as representing both a major governance promise and a politically significant reform.

Also Read: No choice, no voice: Indian Muslims driven to both accept UCC and lose franchise

Ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, the BJP had pledged in its manifesto that the UCC would be implemented within six months of coming to power in the state. The promise was prominently highlighted by Union Home Minister Amit Shah while unveiling the party's election manifesto, or ‘Sankalp Patra’, in April.

“Several states, including Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, have already implemented the UCC proposals. Bengal will now also implement it in line with other BJP-ruled states as we had promised ahead of the elections,” a minister in the Adhikari cabinet said.

‘Museum for Vande Mataram’

During the programme, Adhikari paid floral tributes to Chattopadhyay, the composer of the national song 'Vande Mataram'.

The chief minister announced that the state government would build a national-level 'Vande Mataram' museum as part of the celebrations marking 150 years of the song.