Overview
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday, October 30, that the BJP will implement a Uniform Civil Code in Uttar Pradesh if the party returns to power in next year’s assembly election.
- Shah announced the pledge at the BJP’s Uttar Pradesh state executive meeting in Lucknow and framed UCC as part of the party’s drive to secure a third consecutive term in the state.
- Opposition parties instantly objected and criticised the move as hostile to minorities, while some National Democratic Alliance partners such as JD(U) and TDP have privately expressed reservations about voter backlash.
- The BJP has so far pursued UCC through state laws rather than a national bill, with Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Assam and Madhya Pradesh having passed UCC-style measures that the party uses as models.
- If carried out, a Uttar Pradesh UCC would alter laws that now vary by religion on marriage, divorce and inheritance, a change that critics warn could affect religious freedoms and stir social tensions while supporters say it would create a common civil code.