LUCKNOW Following Union home minister Amit Shah’s strong pitch for implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) across all 21 BJP-led NDA states before the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, the contentious issue has returned to the political conversation in UP, where assembly elections are due early next year.
The party is committed to bring UCC. For now, UCC remains a promise in Uttar Pradesh. “I will not comment on the issue at present. Led by Jayant Chaudhary, RLD is part of the NDA at the Centre and in the Yogi government, with its core base being Jats and farmers in west UP. RLD worries that UCC’s provisions on inheritance and marriage customs may be seen as interference in customary practices, especially in the Khap belt. But as Union minister, Chaudhary is unlikely to oppose it openly. Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), led by Om Prakash Rajbhar, a vocal ally and minister in the Yogi cabinet, draws its base from the backward Rajbhar community. In the past, the minister has opposed anything seen as an upper caste imposition. He is likely to seek a detailed draft first, push for exemptions like the Uttarakhand model gave to tribals and demand that UCC should not affect backward communities’ rituals. Former high court judge Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava is the chairman of the commission.
“The UCC has always been part of BJP’s core goal and election manifesto like the abrogation of Article 370 in J&K. Will the Yogi Adityanath government give UCC a push in the run-up to 2027 to counter opposition’s caste-based politics?
Now, after union home minister’s statement, the state government will move in this direction,” said Dinesh Pratap Singh, chief spokesperson, state BJP. I will get back after consulting the party high command,” said RLD national general secretary Anil Dubey. Dubey’s line – “will consult high command” – shows reluctance to take a public stand. People in the know of things said before the state government can enact any law, it asks State Law Commission to prepare a draft. “The office of State Law Commission has not yet received any request from the state government to prepare a draft of UCC,” said a senior official.
