Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party would implement a Uniform Civil Code in West Bengal to end the “politics of appeasement”, PTI reported.

He made the remark a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the BJP would implement a Uniform Civil Code in the state within six months if voted to power, while releasing the party’s manifesto in Kolkata.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday criticised the BJP’s manifesto, claiming that the Uniform Civil Code would restrict people from practising their faith, The Indian Express reported.

A Uniform Civil Code refers to a common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, succession and adoption for all citizens. Currently, such personal affairs of different religious and tribal groups are based on community-specific laws, largely derived from religious scripture.

The introduction of a common personal law has for long been on the BJP’s agenda and several states ruled by the party have been making advances towards implementing it.

In January 2025, BJP-ruled Uttarakhand became the first state to implement a Uniform Civil Code after independence. The Gujarat Assembly cleared a similar legislation on March 24 amid protests by the Opposition. A common civil code has been in place in Goa since the Portuguese Civil Code was adopted in 1867.

In its campaign for a Uniform Civil Code...

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