New Delhi: Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has become a flash point in the West Bengal Assembly elections. On the one hand, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to implement the bill if the Bharatiya Janata Party comes to power. Meanwhile, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has pledged to repeal the law if her party secures a majority at the Centre.Addressing a rally in Janchipur in Murshidabad district, Prime Minister Modi said the BJP manifesto released a day ago outlined a roadmap for introducing UCC as part of a wider push to end what he termed “appeasement politics” in the state. The prime minister positioned the proposal as an integral part of governance and national security while also linking it to the BJP’s broader electoral campaign in Bengal.
“National security is of paramount importance to us. The BJP is determined to implement UCC in West Bengal to end the politics of appeasement forever,” PM Modi said at the rally.His remarks came after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “Sankalp Patra” pledged to implement the UCC within six months of forming the government, along with a slew of governance and security reforms. The party sees the election as a defining moment for Bengal’s political direction and accuses corruption, lawlessness and demographic changes under the Trinamool Congress (TMC).In response to the ‘Sankalp Patra’, the Bengal Chief Minister opposed the implementation of the Civil Code Bill. Addressing a rally in Keshyari in Pashim’s Medinipur district, Banerjee accused the BJP of pushing the proposal without consensus and warned that it would be overturned if the political equation at the Center changes.Speaking at the rally, she said: “They talked about the UCC (Uniform Civil Code) in their manifesto. I would strongly oppose this approach. They are in the majority today, so they will pass the bill. When they no longer have the majority tomorrow, we will withdraw the bill. As long as they continue to exist, free and fair elections will be impossible. “Banerjee also expressed concerns over the electoral process and policy timing, claiming that in the ongoing election cycle, key decisions are being driven through without debate.She said: “The elections are underway and they are bringing a delimitation bill to parliament. This isn’t even up for debate. The reason behind it is that they want to divide Bengal and conduct NRC here. I reiterate this, the BJP will disappear soon. “Banerjee widened her attack and criticized the Special Intensification Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, accusing it of manipulation and deletion of voters’ names.“Our fight is against ‘Vanish Kumar’ (referring to CEC Gyanesh Kumar). SIR is a huge scam. This is not SIR but an attempt to bring the BJP to power,” she said. This is a name-removal scam. Nine million names have been removed. “She further claimed that there were attempts to target her politically and said, “Two false affidavits were submitted to disqualify my candidacy from Babanipur. They couldn’t do it, but imagine if they can do it to me, what they can do to others.”
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Should the implementation of the UCC gain broader public consensus?
The Bharatiya Janata Party doubled down on its campaign rhetoric, with the prime minister accusing the TMC of relying on “infiltrators”, promoting corruption and failing to maintain law and order. He also claimed that the violence during the Ram Navami procession in the state was in stark contrast to the peaceful celebrations elsewhere in the country.The West Bengal assembly elections are scheduled to be held from April 23 to 29, and the counting of votes will be on May 4.
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