In a landmark moment for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in West Bengal, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that the draft Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill will be presented before his cabinet on July 2.
The first phase of the state assembly’s Budget Session concluded on Monday, while the second phase is scheduled to begin on July 7.
It was earlier reported that the introduction of the Bill may depend on the recommendations or report submitted by the high-level committee constituted under former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, to examine the matter.
Earlier rumours floated that the BJP government might introduce the Uniform Civil Code Bill in the assembly on the last day of the first phase of the session, that is Monday. However, sources in the state government said that the bill is yet to get the clearance of the law department which is under chief minister Suvendu Adhikari.
Speculation over the introduction of the UCC Bill had intensified since Thursday evening. During the first half of the Assembly session that day, Shubhendu had spoken in favour of the Bill during his speech.
He later reiterated his position at a party programme the same night, further fuelling discussions over the possibility of the Bill being tabled.
Though no official explanation has been given regarding the decision to delay the Bill, sources close to the development believe that the administration wants to proceed cautiously on such a sensitive matter and ensure that there are no loopholes in the proposed legislation.
Several BJP-ruled states have followed a similar process before introducing UCC legislation. So far, UCC has been implemented in Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Assam, where committees were formed to prepare draft legislation.
Uttarakhand became the first state in India to introduce a UCC Bill. A committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai had been formed before the Bill was tabled there. She later also served on Gujarat’s UCC committee. Assam too had constituted a similar panel.
More recently, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have also initiated steps towards implementing UCC and have decided to form committees for drafting legislation.